The Puppet Master
by Bondage Fetish
Summary: IYYYH Intrigue and mystery draw Hiei into a pact that he could have never foreseen. Just how far is he willing to go to learn the truth about the miko who has ensnared him?
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Puppet Master

Author: Bondage Fetish

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: Lemons, language, violence and character death.

Theme: Dangerous Liaisons

Disclaimer: If I owned either Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho, I'd actually be rewriting both series instead of having to content myself with fan fiction of it. And no, I make no money off of this story.

Written for The Deadliest Sin's contest.

**Chapter One**

The wind tore at Hiei's cloak and plastered his bangs to his face as he ran, streaking across the border and into the Ningenkai. Irritation coursed through his body even as his boots landed on the soft soil of the human world and the clean air assaulted his nose. He had absolutely no desire to be here, away from the blood soaked landscape of the Makai and he grimaced in disgust. But one of his his duties demanded that he return here periodically, to eliminate any threat that managed to make it across and that order wasn't likely to change anytime soon.

Unfortunately incursions were happening all too often and it was up to him to have to deal with them. What was strange was the location, and he had yet to figure out what it was about this place. It was unremarkable as far as places in the Ningenkai went, aside from the fact that the landscape was mostly untouched. But this was twice now within a week that he'd been drawn to this spot by some fool who thought it would be wise to set up camp here and now he was determined to find out why so he could put an end to it.

The first time that it happened, he'd been forced to kill the other demon and he hadn't attempted to gain any information from him, because it hadn't seemed important. There were only two choices, as far as he was concerned, either they could return to the Makai quietly, or they could die by his sword. Honestly, it really didn't matter to him which option they chose, just as long as it didn't take much of his time for them to make a decision. 'This has gone beyond stupid. If they want to die so badly they could save me the trouble of having to come here to do it, I'd be just as happy to kill them back home.'

"This shit is going to get figured out soon or they can just give the job of babysitting humans to someone else," he muttered in spite of the fact that there was no one there to hear him. This time, he was going to figure out what the hell it was about this place that was so damned special. Either there was something there that they wanted, or he'd stumbled onto something more serious, such as a black market operation. Human flesh brought a high price for those who were willing to risk it all in the attempt to fill the demand but it was also a thorn in his side that he hadn't quite figured out how to remove yet either.

But it was pointless to even begin to speculate without hard proof of any kind and as such he refused to bring his suspicions up to Mukuro. He knew that she wouldn't take kindly to the thought that something of that nature was going on beneath her nose and the idea that someone would go against her orders in her territory was sure to have dire consequences for everyone. To add the additional duties that would fall on him if she believed thats what was happening didn't thrill him. because he knew it would be up to him to uncover the operation. Even he wasn't so bored that he'd willingly go on some wild goose chase without some concrete evidence to support it so for now he endured the trips across when he had to. He just had to hope that they didn't become more frequent then they already were.

Briefly he paused to get his bearings and scan the immediate area for anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't long before a small whisper of power caressed his senses, causing his brow to furrow with annoyance. It almost seemed to be teasing him, beckoning him closer. 'So much for this being a coincidence. I think I've found the reason these fools keep coming here.'

Seeing no reason to put it off when the opportunity had presented itself to take care of the problem right then, Hiei set off again and began trailing the lure. Ordinarily it wouldn't be enough to interest him, but then again, he was powerful enough that such a small taste would be pointless to give a second thought to. But the same could not be said for those he was hunting and his lip curled up in a sneer at the thought of how weak they had to be to want such a trifling power boost. Clearly they were a waste of his time, but there was no one else to send.

Picking up speed as he moved closer to his intended target he allowed the ward over the Jagan to burn away. It almost seemed to be too easy, and although he didn't perceive any real threat he wasn't going to be taken off guard. Immediately he picked up on that fact that there was more than one demon there, although one was decidedly closer than the other. 'C class, a complete waste of my time. No wonder they're looking for anything that might help them grow stronger, even a human could destroy them without much of a problem.'

But there was something else there as well, a slight hint of energy that shouldn't be there and it left him wondering if maybe a human of Genkai's abilities frequented the area. Whoever it was, they certainly didn't belong in the Makai. So long as they didn't cross the border though, he wasn't going to worry about it. It wasn't his concern where they went in this god forsaken realm, and he wasn't about to go search this person out to find out why they were this close anyway. For all he knew it was a member of one of those odd human cults, running around naked while jacked up on whatever drug they could shove up their nose.

In spite of that horrifying mental image, he kept his senses alert and trained on his first target. The fool was only moments away now and had most likely sensed his presence. It wasn't like he saw a reason to conceal himself, not when he could eliminate a demon of this class with his fists alone. A sudden change in his prey's direction confirmed that theory and he smirked at the thought of them trying to outrun him. It just wasn't possible and sooner or later they were going to realize that.

The time came sooner than he thought it would, seeing as it normally took them a while to exhaust themselves and turn to fight. Apparently this particular nuisance was rather sure of themselves, and he had no qualms about taking them down a peg or two. It was time to get some answers and by the looks of things, he was going to need to rip them out of his opponent.

"So," he sneered, "you finally decided to stop running like a coward and face me. Tell me why you're here and I might let you live."

"Why should I tell a traitor like you anything?" the boar snarled at the apparition standing in his way. He knew well enough just who the man was, and he knew that he was there for a reason. The relaxed stance that the man had taken was deceiving and he wasn't about to let his guard down. Not now, not when he was so close to getting what he wanted. He didn't have the time or inclination to deal with this bastard who was nothing more than a traitor to his own kind. Not only had Hiei allied himself with humans, but then he'd become the Reikai's lap dog.

It was disgusting that any self respecting demon would fall so low, taking the paltry offer of freedom in exchange for a lifetime of servitude. But the fact that Hiei was even there presented a problem and he knew that in a fight he'd be lucky to get out alive. His best chance lay in reaching his goal and attaining the power that would allow him to destroy his opponent. "I'll only give you one warning. Stay out of my way. If you think you're going to stop me from claiming the jewel, you're sadly mistaken. Leave and go back to bending over for your bitch of an employer, you have no business here."

"The only thing you'll be claiming is your place in hell if you think to threaten me again," Hiei said, his voice as cold at the ice that formed the Koorime Island. The glare he leveled at the other demon held nothing but death, a clear warning to heed his words or perish. "Forget about the jewel and return to the Makai. There's nothing for you here."

When the boar assumed an aggressive stance, Hiei knew the time for talking was over. The choice to fight had been made and now the taller demon would die. Quickly he drew his sword and began circling his prey, waiting to see what his first move would be.

"It's your funeral," the boar screamed and tightened his grip on the Imperium polearm he'd stolen from the corpse of his partner. His only chance lay in taking the apparition out quickly and he knew it. Letting loose a battle cry, he charged towards his opponent, hoping to score the first blow.

The attack from the smaller demon came swiftly, but he managed to counter it with a minimum of difficulty and he whirled around to face the next onslaught. His weapon was far more suited to long range attacks and as he manged to counter the second blow, he began to think that he might actually be able to take the apparition out, despite his formidable reputation. Easily he deflected the blow that would have taken his head off and countered with an attack of his own. "You fool!"

Cursing under his breath, Hiei ducked beneath the weapon and pulled back until he was just out of reach. It wasn't the boar's skill that was making the difference, it was the reckless abandon he was using. When you had nothing to lose, you were willing to take risks that could easily get you killed. And this was one of those cases. Still, the idiot had managed to score a hit on him, even if it was a shallow gash across his abdomen. An inch more would have been certain disembowelment and that just wasn't acceptable. It was time to get serious and stop playing around. Even with a weapon designed to counter his katana, the boar couldn't hope to match his greater speed, and that was all the advantage that he was going to need. When his blade crashed against metal he began to make his move, ducking beneath the larger weapon, fully intending to gouge the idiot's heart out. As he moved, a brief but powerful burst of energy distracted the enemy, but it wasn't nearly enough to keep him from finishing the job.

"No, I won't let you have it," the boar screamed. The flare of power could only mean that someone else had beaten him to the jewel and was now taking possession of it. The knowledge infuriated him, but it was far too late. He never noticed how quickly the apparition had bypassed his defenses and he couldn't even scream when a clawed hand tore through his ribcage. Weakly he wrapped his hands around the apparition's forearm, trying to pull free from the crushing grip but he was losing far too much blood to do more than that. Darkness began to claim him even as he fell to his knees, the polearm falling to the ground forgotten.

"You're pathetic," Hiei sneered, ripping his arm free from the other demon's chest. The fight certainly hadn't been much of a challenge that was for damned sure. He hadn't even managed to work up a sweat and the small cut he'd received was healing already. Casually he flicked the blood off of his hand before taking a moment to sheath his katana. There hadn't been much of a point to using it, and he was disgusted that he'd even bothered to draw it.

Quickly he started off in the direction of the other demon, uncaring of the fact that he'd just walked through the growing pool of blood that had spilled from the boar. It was strange, that strange power was almost gone now and only the smallest traces of residue remained. Had it been a human and the second demon had eliminated them? He was almost ready to conclude that was indeed the case, except there was no trace of the demon at all. It was as if the bastard had never been there in the first place and that was puzzling. Even in death a small portion of energy remained for a short time, but there was nothing there.

The only possibility that remained was that someone had the ability to shield themselves from the Jagan, and that was completely unacceptable. Now he was determined to find out just who it was that possessed such an ability and he stalked deeper into the forest. Sooner or later they would show themselves, because they had to know that he was there. The only reason to hide yourself was because you didn't want to be found, or you wanted to launch an attack that your opponent couldn't hope to counter. However, he would not be caught unaware. He wasn't a piece of low class trash that couldn't spot an ambush from a mile away. He'd find this bastard, and then he'd get his answers, even if he had to resort to torture to get it out of them.

Yet as he ventured further into the trees, things remained silent, as if there was nothing out of the ordinary there to be concerned about. Snarling in frustration, he continued on until he reached a ravine and then approached the edge, peering into the darkness. Despite the cloud cover that kept the landscape blanketed in shadows, there was still enough light for him see that the bottom was covered with rocks, some of which had to weigh several tons. Critically he eyed the cliff on the other side and noticed how scarred it was. Deep gouges cut into the granite, although they looked to be centuries old, most likely remnants of some battle that occurred long before the barrier went up and the realms were separated.

But it couldn't have been an ordinary battle since most demons just didn't have the power to cause such raw, cutting damage. No physical weapon had the capabilities to gouge the rock like that. No, this was an energy attack of some sort, cast loose in what had to be a battle to the death.

However, he wasn't there to examine some ancient battleground. He was there to uncover just why the demons were flocking to this place, and better yet, what the hell that foreign energy was that he'd felt earlier. Then there was also the question of the jewel that the boar had mentioned earlier. While he wasn't quite sure what it was, or what it had to do with anything, he knew it was connected somehow. Perhaps it was an uncut gem like the ones that the humans were so fond of searching for.

Now that made some since to him, since the humans usually had to travel deep underground to find the precious stones. That little problem would have been solved easily given how disturbed the earth was here. At any rate, such a trinket held no interest or value to him. The person who'd managed to take out the second demon on the other hand was someone he couldn't wait to confront. The same person who had yet to show themselves.

There was every possibility that they would wait until he left to reveal themselves, and there was little he could do about it since the Jagan wasn't picking up on their energy. However, it wasn't as if he was needed back in the Makai anytime soon, and to his way of thinking, this was more important than patrolling the border at the moment. With his mind made up, he darted back into the forest, giving the impression that he was leaving. It didn't take long for him to pick a suitable surveillance place and he settled back for a long wait. 'Sooner or later they'll return and then I'll have my answers.'

Time passed, allowing night to cover the forest and encase the foliage in darkness, but he had yet to move. Unknown to the apparition he had a watcher, silently evaluating the situation. Although she couldn't see him, she could sense his energy and that of any being who happened to be nearby. While she didn't know why he was there, she was on her guard. It was only because she'd already taken the energy she'd needed from the first demon that she didn't remove this one as well. He was clearly a threat, and a powerful one at that, but even he couldn't stand against her if she wanted him dead and as much as she hated killing, she'd come to accept it as something she had to do from time to time. It was just the way things were.

Centuries had past since the fateful day that she'd been trapped within the jewel, and she had very little access to the outside world now. What small influence she had, she used to keep the fragile balance within the jewel. It was all that she could do. None of them had expected her to die that day, least of all her. But even if she had, she couldn't have anticipated being taken by the Shikon itself.

Yet that's exactly what had happened and her added presence had completely disrupted the fragile balance within the jewel. Even the slightest tip in power would be enough to destroy it, and her soul along with it. If she could have been certain the demons within would suffer the same fate, she would have allowed it to happen. But since she couldn't be sure, she dared not take the chance. It left her no choice then and she was forced to kill from time to time, taking what energy she needed to keep her own powers in check. The only thing that kept her sane now, was the slim hope that one day she'd discover the secret to getting free. Perhaps then she could move onto the afterlife, and some day be reunited with her family.

However, if there was indeed a way to be free of this prison, she had yet to find it and day by day the small flame of hope flickered, threatening to extinguish itself. To be honest, she no longer knew what century she was even in. There was no way to track the passing of time, and no way to reach out far enough to access the knowledge she craved. Most of the demons she encountered had no knowledge of the passage of time in the human world, and she was afraid to reach out to the few humans that ventured in the area. The demonic souls in the jewel could still be a force to be reckoned with, and she couldn't risk people's lives just to satisfy her curiosity.

Still, the demon that was occupying the tree a short distance away was intriguing. This wasn't the first time that he'd come to the area, but he'd never even hinted at being interested in the jewel. She knew that he could sense it, at least when she allowed her powers to flare even if it was only briefly. That was the primary reason that she hadn't eliminated the threat that this particular demon posed. If he truly had no interest in the jewel, then she saw no reason to take his life. The other demons who had come, had specifically wanted to take the Shikon's power which she just couldn't allow.

If she'd had a physical body, she might have sighed. Could this demon truly be like Sesshoumaru? He'd been the only other demon that she'd met who had no interest in obtaining power through the use of an artifact. That in itself had surprised her considering how much he'd desired the Tetsusaiga. Uncertainty filled her because as she wanted to know, a small part of her dreaded the answer. She could manipulate his mind easily enough, but to her it felt like she was looking for an excuse to get rid of him. If there was even the smallest indication he wanted the jewel, she'd have to kill him. There could be no hesitation, no reluctance. This was her fate, her destiny. She couldn't turn her back on it, no matter how much she wished that she could. Kikyo had made that same mistake, and ultimately it cost her her life and now the stakes were so much higher. So quietly she watched, studying the demon who had unwittingly intruded upon her world.

Oblivious to his watcher's silent struggle, Hiei continued to wait, looking for even the slightest weakness in what had to be one of the best attempts at shielding he had ever encountered. The feeling of anticipation continued to raise, inciting a restlessness in him that could barely be contained. Experience alone should have been enough to quell it, however, it wasn't enough. In his field of expertise, he was one of the best, yet the fact that the enemy continued to elude him continued to eat away at his control.

Something was going to happen, there was no denying that fact and he found himself spoiling for a fight. He hadn't come out all this way for a relaxing afternoon, and so far this had been a waste of his time. Just as he was considering the possibility of relocating, the first faint whisper of power caressed his skin. A slow smile crossed his face then, knowing that things were about to become more interesting. If he hadn't been watching for something, there was a good chance he would have missed it. However, he wasn't about to let this go unchallenged, not after waiting all this time.

A low growl erupted from his throat when the touch became more apparent, caressing the sides of his face in a way that could have been considered a lover's touch. But for now he allowed it while he attempted to pinpoint who had the audacity to try such a thing. One thing was for sure though, the energy wasn't demonic. In fact, it had the strong feel of Sei Kou Kei, although he couldn't be certain. Very few humans had the power or determination to train for that long in an attempt to claim such a prize. Sensui had been one of the only ones he'd ever heard of, and the man was dead.

As of yet, it didn't seem to wish to harm him, although he knew that could change in an instant should he let his guard down. That thought alone was enough to irritate him further, to think that a human of all creatures thought they could touch him with impunity. Every muscle tensed in preparation of moving, ready to initiate the game that would put an end to this foolishness and it was at that moment that the power became stronger, allowing another piece of the puzzle to fall into place.

Whoever it was wanted to manipulate his emotions, to calm him and he refused to be controlled. "I tire of these games, human. Show yourself and let's end this."

The obvious challenge in his voice forced Kagome to stop and consider him for a moment. In the beginning, she'd decided to calm him enough so that he decided it was pointless to remain around, but clearly she'd underestimated him. He was quite strong to have succeeded in thwarting her token attempt at soothing him, she had to give him that. Most demons would have acquiesced easily, taking the brief moment of peace without complaint. However, he had rejected it easily, leaving her to wonder if he truly thrived on conflict.

But beyond that, it was the way he'd challenged her and the words that he'd spoken that had her smiling wistfully. In many ways he reminded her of a certain demon lord she'd once known, but was that where the similarities ended? It was curiosity that made her reach out to touch him again with her energy. It was rare that anyone caught her attention anymore, so she wasn't about to allow the chance to pass her by.

The way that he turned to face her with the demand to show herself had her laughing without mirth. There was no way that she could show herself in the way that he wanted, not when she couldn't even project and give herself a physical form. But even if circumstances were otherwise, she wouldn't have given into the urge. A lone female in the forest, presenting herself to the very real danger that he presented would be suicidal.

So instead she reached out and tapped into more of the jewel's power, wielding it far easier than she ever managed with her own. With it's aid, it was easy to insinuate herself into the demon's mind. Malevolent energy swirled around her, attempting to destroy every last trace of the foreign energy she controlled. Yet this demon's power could not touch her and she moved forward confidently, ready to take what she wanted from him. 'So, my little demon, show me why you'd bother to seek this place out twice, if not for the jewel.'

There was a tense fight within, but in moments his body slumped back against the tree that he'd been resting in and he succumbed to the unconscious state that she'd forced upon him. Now things would be easier she knew, and she wasted no time in finding her answers. To say that she was surprised to find that he had been assigned this area to protect would have been an understatement, but the reasoning behind that assignment shocked her to the core.

Originally when she'd died there had only been one world, one where humans and demons mixed freely. Times then had of course been difficult and the two species had been locked in a vicious battle for control. However, sometime within the past five hundred years the Gods had decided that things could no longer continue as they had been, and they'd ripped the world into three different realms. 'That explains why I could never find any demons in my own time. But why would this particular demon protect the border between worlds?'

She supposed it could have been that he just didn't care for them as a whole and wanted to keep them out of his home land, but somehow she didn't think that was the case. That also explained why it took so long for demons to track the faint energy that she released whenever she needed an infusion of outside power. If this man was keeping them from hunting the source down, it could present a problem in the future. While she could fully appreciate his desire to do his duty, it seemed to be in direct conflict with her own. It was hard enough to maintain the balance within the jewel and there had already been more than one close call.

Kagome paused in her search through his memories to ponder this new development. His continued presence would only make things more difficult for her, but she didn't kill indiscriminately either. Only those who had been tempted by the jewel had been taken to date, and she had no desire to deviate from that pattern. As of yet, he had offered her no threat, but for how long would that continue? If he were to know of the jewel's existence and what it was capable of, would he change his mind? It was clear to her that he had no prior knowledge of it, but now he was aware that there was something there. Would he seek it out, either to destroy it or to make it his own?

In the end, she knew that there was only one true way to find out and that was to continue her search through his memories. She had to learn just what kind of person he was, what drove him to do the things that he did, and just what would be a strong enough lure to tempt him. The need to know far superseded any right to privacy in this instance and she felt no guilt in what she was about to do. Perhaps it would have been different if she'd been the same naive girl that she'd once been. But that Kagome was dead, and she'd been forced to accept the fact that life wasn't fair. She'd have to be the one to protect herself and the jewel, because no one else was going to do it for her.

The first thing that met her questing mind was blood. It soaked the landscape of the man's mind, drenching everything with its coppery stench and tainting everything a crimson red. Death was no stranger to this man, in both giving and receiving. Thousands of bodies littered the path to his past, most brutally slaughtered without a second thought. The horror that confronted her was enough to make her cringe in revulsion. And through it all was a sense of overwhelming joy in the face of so much death. 'How could he? Is he truly so twisted that taking someone's life would give him such pleasure?'

Yet she couldn't deny that was the very feeling that he'd experienced in almost every instance of murder that he'd committed. The circumstances behind each killing was laid bare before her, and she was horrified to realize that in most instances, they'd been pointless. He had killed for the sake of killing, luring his victims to their deaths with the promise of the stone that hung loosely around his neck.

But there was more, and it was almost enough to seal his fate in that very instant. Countless times he'd sought out precious artifacts and jewels, either for the power they could give or simply because he lacked anything better to do. It was with a sinking heart that she realized he could easily decide he wanted the jewel, and that was something that she couldn't allow to happen. Reluctantly she called forth the power from her soul, and prepared to purify him completely. It was only when the power swelled, ready to unleash its destructive force that something made her pause. Another memory flashed before her eyes, this one of a young demoness with a sweet face and innocent eyes. The fierce surge of protectiveness that followed left her breathless. She'd only felt one other instance of such devotion, and that had been from Inuyasha during the many times that he'd protected her before she had died. 'So, Hiei, there is one that you've allowed into your heart after all. Are there others? Or is your soul so tainted with hatred that not even the love you hold for your sister could possibly cleanse the blood from your hands?'

The question provoked a violent response from his mind and again it attempted to drive her out, but she would not be swayed from her course. The grip on his mind tightened and she forced him further into the realms of unconsciousness. There was more to it now than just simple curiosity and a plan was beginning to form in her mind. The vast amount of power at his disposal was nearly a match for her own and could be an almost perfect counter to keep the jewel in balance permanently. But absorbing him into the jewel was pointless, because there was still a power imbalance, however small. Keeping him alive on the other hand and tapping into his energy from time to time, on the other hand, was a far more appealing prospect.

But to do so would mean creating a channel in his mind, a bond that she could tap into under certain circumstances. However, she knew that he wouldn't just willingly allow something to happen, and even if she put the channel in place now, her opportunities to use it would be limited. The sleeping mind was far more susceptible to influence and would likely be the only time that she could take what she wanted from him.

However, she wasn't entirely convinced that he was the right choice either, and she needed to know more about him. Ruthlessly she plunged deeper into his memories, searching further back from before he was assigned to protect this area but again, she was brought up abruptly by another face. This one she was more than familiar with, making her wonder if she was closer to her own time than she'd hoped to imagine.

'My God, that's Yusuke! But... how would this demon know him?'

The answer came quickly then, events where the two had clashed flashing through her mind. She almost felt numb, learning what had happened to her friend in such a short period of time. He'd been nothing more than an ordinary human the last time they'd crossed paths, but now... Now he was a hanyou of even greater power than the demon sitting across from her.

But Yusuke had changed greatly, and she was unsettled by just how much. At one point he'd reminded her of Inuyasha, needing no one and locked in a constant battle for survival in a world bent on casting him aside like trash. But now, he held a position of power and his will influenced the three realms like no other could. More importantly, she could see the level of trust that he held for her captive and that spoke volumes to her. 'I don't know whether to say that Yusuke was incredibly smart, or excessively foolish in giving this demon that much power over him.'

The fact that the two had started out enemies and later became friends was not lost on her either, especially since it hit so close to home. How many of the people she now loved started out as people that had tried to harm her in some way? Slowly she shook her head, there were too many parallels there not to consider. Regardless, this particular demon had become someone that Yusuke would trust with his life. More surprising, this apparition would willingly give his own life if necessary to save the man she considered to be a friend. Both revelations were something she had to take into account before coming to any final conclusion.

Through most of those memories though, there was another person present and instinctively she knew that he wasn't human either. The apparition's memories supplied her with the information behind this man called Kurama, and somehow she wasn't surprised to see that he was a kitsune, or at least that he had been in a previous life. But she wasn't exactly interested in what he was, she wanted to know what the connection between the two was and the feelings that overlapped the images had her curious.

She almost missed the slight stirrings of friendship that the demon held for the kitsune because they were buried under the deep feelings of betrayal that he felt. The amount of resentment that this apparition harbored was staggering in it's intensity, but it was also deeply buried. A bit of searching revealed the cause behind it all, and she was surprised to find that the kitsune had turned on him in favor of helping Yusuke. Apparently, his trust was something that was difficult to obtain and easily lost. Although the hybrid could still work with the redhead, he would never trust him fully again. 'I wonder if Kurama is aware of just how damaged their bond of friendship is? Even though some of the resentment has faded, there's no denying that it's still there. How much strain, I wonder, would it take for their friendship to break completely?'

In a way she'd be surprised if the kitsune hadn't figured it out. They were notoriously intelligent and something like this was unlikely to slip past him for long. Either way, it wasn't her problem. All his memory had done was to convince her that loyalty was one of the very few things that this apparition held dear. To betray him was to gain an enemy, unless there were extenuating circumstances like there had been in Kurama's case.

The knowledge she had gained had caused enough doubt in her mind that she allowed the purifying energy to dissipate for the time being. Although it was clear that he could still kill in cold blood, something in him had changed since meeting Yusuke. There was a level of control there that hadn't existed before.

A final face appeared before her then, just before she was ready to withdraw from his mind. It was of a human that she didn't recognize, but he still figured prominently in the apparition's recent past. The feelings surrounding this particular man was confusing to say the least. On one hand, there was the slightest respect for what he was capable of doing, but at the same time there was a deep sense of loathing.

Kagome couldn't exactly say that had been unexpected, since more demons despised humans as a general rule. In fact, this had been more along the lines of what she'd been expecting when she'd first entered his mind. And the reasoning behind that dislike wasn't a great revelation either. Apparently this guy took issue to the fact that some people were slower to figure things out as a general rule, which just confirmed her suspicion that he tended to be impatient, not to mention quick tempered. Surely it made that relationship an interesting one and she was rather surprised that the apparition hadn't killed the human outright.

Finally she settled back to consider everything that she'd learned. Even though their relationships were vastly different in nature, one thing had become clear. He trusted each of them, to a certain extent at least, and that wasn't a common trait to find in a demon. What was even more strange was that he continued to put risk trusting those closest to him, despite the fact that he'd obviously been betrayed more than once.

'It has to do with how they trust him, although I can't say just how far that extends. Yusuke believes in him, but what of the others? Something tells me their acceptance is more guarded, and that it wouldn't take much for them to believe he's turned on them.'

She couldn't help but wonder if their concerns were well founded. However, Yusuke wouldn't put his faith in someone who didn't deserve it. It was almost uncanny how he could pick out the people that he could count on, and she'd never known him to be wrong in the past. So could she afford to put her trust in him now?

The more she thought about it, the less reason that she could find not to. According to Hiei's memories, there were many times where the fate of the world rested upon Yusuke's shoulders. He hadn't hesitated when it came to sharing that burden with the demon in front of her, and he hadn't failed yet. The plight she had on her hands was no less important than what he'd already been through, but would he wish to help again?

'Does it matter? None of the other demons I've taken have been willing to give me their energy, much less their lives. What makes him any different? He won't even be aware of what is going on when it happens.'

It was a cold way of looking at things, but she couldn't be anything but practical about this issue. If it would stop the killing, just what was the harm in it? There was no telling when another opportunity like this would present itself, since most of the demons that even came looking for the jewel were weak and now that she knew about the barrier, it made sense. Nor did she believe that this particular apparition would allow someone of greater strength to get past him, not when there was so much potential for danger to the human world if he failed in his duty.

Her main concern, however, was that the amount of energy she would have to take each time was high. If she were to attempt it under normal circumstances, it would weaken him. 'If he gets killed because of what I'm doing to him, then it leaves a greater problem with the border being protected. He's going to have to have his energy elevated under stressful circumstances in order to minimize the risk.'

Unfortunately, that left only two conceivable options for feeding off of him and that was through either battle lust or sexual desire. Either one was equally acceptable, however one was likely to be in shorter supply. While the apparition fought daily, most of his opponents weren't worth expending a lot of effort. Therefor, there would be little that remained once he finally found a place to rest. Sexual energy, however, was easily obtainable. He was a young male, and like all men, he had physical desires. It would be simple to incite them to high enough levels that she could take advantage of the energy overflow.

The only problem with that was that she wasn't altogether certain that she'd be comfortable using her body in such a way, never mind the fact that she didn't really have a physical form anymore. It also brought up a very good question, one that she had no answer to. Would she be able to feel any physical pleasure if she insinuated herself into his dreams? Better yet, would she even want to? After all, it wasn't as if she was doing this to experience something that she hadn't had a chance to try when she was still alive.

'This is stupid. Whether I can or can't feel anything is immaterial. He has what I need to keep the jewel in balance, that's all that matters. It isn't as if we're actually going to be screwing and to him it's nothing more than a dream anyway.'

Despite her reasoning she'd given herself, she still had to deal with the sudden attack of conscience. Trying to set aside her misgivings, she began laying the groundwork for the bond that would be needed. While she didn't want to create something that was as tight as a mating bond, she knew that it would need to be something developed enough to channel energy through, as well as permanent. It wasn't the easiest of tasks to accomplish and by the time she was finished, she was muttering curses beneath her breath. The Jagan was determined to protect it's master and had fought her every step of the way.

'It figures that he'd manage to find an eye that is as obstinate as he is. I suppose that's a good thing though, it'll protect him, which in turns protects my investment in him.'

Slowly Kagome began to withdraw from his mind, although she didn't allow him complete freedom just yet. If she were to do so, he'd come awake abruptly and most likely violently. Even though he couldn't hurt her, he could end up causing himself more grief than he wanted to deal with, especially when he was hit with the headache she knew was coming. It was better this way and it was the least she could do considering the service he would be providing her.

It was time for him to awaken, and she dampened her energy so that she could watch him without being detected. When those crimson eyes opened, she nearly laughed at the confusion they held. He had to know that he hadn't fallen asleep willingly, but he would find no answers as to what had just happened. Nor would he be able to sense the bond that they now shared, even with the jagan's assistance. She'd done her work well and now, all there was left to do was wait until it was time to feed once again.

Carefully Hiei pushed himself away from the trunk of the tree and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. There was no way in hell he'd just fallen asleep, not when he knew that there was an enemy close by. Such a thing was as inconceivable as the thought of Kuwabara asking for his hand in marriage. It just wasn't happening. What was worse was he knew that there was something different, but he'd be damned if he knew what it was.

So far nothing seemed to be different or out of place, if one discounted the headache that was beginning to build behind his eyes. No doubt that was an unnatural occurrence as well, but it was more of an added nuisance than anything else. The whole idea that the unseen enemy could render him unconscious was troubling though, since it would be impossible to defend himself under such circumstances. 'But to what purpose? They could have killed me when they had the chance, so what stopped them?'

As annoying as it was, he couldn't come up with a reasonable answer to his question. It was tempting to loose the dragon and rid himself of the problem all together. He knew that there were only a few who could stand up to the beast, and none of them were humans. However, he knew that if he were to give into that temptation, Koenma would be crawling up his ass to demand answers, and most likely he'd end up serving him for some indefinite amount of time. He'd just gotten out of working for the fool and he didn't want to walk back into that position.

The option that remained was only slightly better than the first one, and that was to leave the area. Clearly he was not going to gain answers on this day and the demons that had crossed the border had been disposed of. If he were to get technical, there was no longer any reason for him to remain. Unless the threat was demonic in nature, it wasn't his problem and Koenma could deal with this unseen enemy if it came down to it.

Quickly he dropped down out of the tree he'd been resting in and turned towards the border. No doubt Mukuro would want his report, even if there had been nothing of great importance, if one discounted the unseen force. Nor was there any point in mentioning it to her since he had no concrete proof of anything there.

'Knowing my luck, she'd insist on checking it out herself and all hell would break loose. Even Yusuke has had trouble remaining in this waste of space, Enma would mobilize the entire SDF if Mukuro crossed the border.' Not that it would make any difference since even with all of the Reikai forces combined would they be able to take on a demon of her caliber.

No, in this instance it was best to keep quiet about the whole incident unless there was a pressing reason to bring it up. He'd tell her that it was a simple issue that was easily dealt with, and that would be the end of it.

Yet, somehow he knew that whatever it was, whatever had happened here, was far from over. It wasn't finished, but he couldn't explain how he knew this. And that feeling just increased with each step he took away from the place where he'd encountered the strange energy. Reluctantly he paused and turned to look back towards the area he'd just come from, but he could detect nothing out of the ordinary. The foreign power hadn't returned, and he still couldn't sense anyone within the area.

Unable to explain just what was tugging at his soul, he began walking back to the tree when he felt it, a loneliness that was not his own and he began to wonder if it was some sort of spirit that lingered in the area. Unfortunately, he had no true way of knowing since he did not have the same abilities that those idiot ferry girls did, nor did he want them. But that still didn't stop him from moving closer to investigate.

'I must be a fool, following this thing around like a dog. When the hell did I become desirable company?' He was of half a mind to tell whatever it was to fuck off, but again his instincts prevented him from doing so. Perhaps it was attempting to show him just what they were and with that knowledge, he could figure out how to get rid of them. At least then he'd be able to put a stop to the breaches across the border.

While he studied the area, Kagome continued to coax his mind, impressing upon him the need to keep moving. There was little that she could do with him in this state, but that was immaterial for what she wanted at this point. For far too long she'd wondered how her family was doing, and now that she knew approximately what time period they were in, she knew that she could have her questions answered.

However, it meant manipulating the apparition into doing what she wanted, and right now that was to investigate the shrine. While she wouldn't be able to see through his eyes, or even read his mind while he was awake, she knew that it wouldn't be long before she was allowed to venture into his memories again. So to that end she concentrated, coaxing his instincts to the surface and then pointing them in the direction she wished him to go.

Unaware of the subtle influence she had over his mind. Hiei gave into the urge to find out where his instincts would lead him. Although he had no idea just where he was going, he began to run, allowing his gut instincts to guide him. The landscape passed by quickly and the breeze tore at his clothing, yet he barely took notice of his surroundings. By now all of his attention was focused on one thing and that was figuring out just what was going on. Had anyone been in the area, they wouldn't have even caught his the after image that signaled his passing.

When the tree line gave way to tall buildings, his lip curled in disgust. It would figure that his answers would lay in the largest city in Japan. It couldn't have been a place fairly small that would have only taken a few minutes of his time to explore. Instead he was going to be forced to mingle with the sea of humanity that clogged the streets and sidewalks, not to mention the headache of coming up with a reason for the detour that Mukuro would accept.

Once he reached the outskirts of town, he slowed in his headlong rush. Not because he was worried about being seen, but because the pull he'd been experiencing had lessened. Carefully he scanned the area, taking note of his surroundings in an effort to determine just what he was missing. Something told him that he was close, extremely close to whatever it was that he was supposed to be looking for and it was the moment that his gaze landed on the tori of a nearby shrine that he knew he'd found the right place.

But he didn't make a move to approach the place, at least not right away. Venturing onto holy ground was not something to do lightly, not when the energy could easily destroy him. However, he doubted that whatever it was would bring him all the way out here, just to try to purify him when they could have eliminated the threat that he posed earlier.

Still, his advance was cautious and he went out of his way to avoid the people that happened to be walking nearby. He had no desire to remain in contact with them any longer than necessary, and this would ensure that none of them bothered to ask what he was doing. Cautiously he advanced up the stairs, keeping all of his senses alert on the off chance that the shrine priest or miko would notice his presence.

However, it became apparent that such precautions weren't necessary when he reached the top of the stairs. Although the courtyard had been cleared, there were tell tale signs of the destruction that had taken place. Far off to the left was a concrete foundation, clearly all that remained of what was once a house. The black scorch marks on the platform told the tale of just what had occurred.

Nonchalantly he strode forward, as if he was just another passerby who happened upon the place by accident. While he still wasn't sure of just why he'd been led here, it was obvious that there was a reason. The annoyance he'd been feeling earlier abated only slightly since there was a chance this would solve this little mystery he'd found himself thrown into.

Once he reached the site that the house once stood, he knelt down and examined the burn marks. His brow furrowed when he realized just how old they were. Most likely the fire had occurred years ago, but the marks still remained while in areas that looked untouched, the exposure to the sun and elements had caused some damage. Given the unpredictable weather that the city tended to have, he expected there to be far more fading then there was as far as the fire damage was concerned.

But there was more that didn't add up when he ran his fingers through the soot. Being an apparition that controlled fire, he was intimately familiar with the properties of both the Makai and the Ningenkai varieties. Even with the passing of time, he'd know the scent of hell fire anywhere. 'Tch, it would figure. Looks I've been dragged here to avenge some pathetic human because someone didn't do their job.'

The entire problem with that idea was that most likely the demon that had done it was either dead or back in the Makai. At the moment there were very few demons that were even in the Ningenkai at the moment. His team did their jobs well and he wasn't about to downplay that fact, this hadn't happened on his watch. If this was indeed a spirit crying for vengeance, there was every likelihood that the culprit was already dead.

Still, it was tempting to make a quick trip to the Reikai to look into it and he would have, had it not been for the fact that he had no desire to speak to either Botan or Koenma. Surely there would be information to be found here in the Ningenkai. After all, a fire at a shrine wasn't an every day occurrence and he had a readily available source of information at his disposal. 'And even if Kurama doesn't know the story behind this place, I'm sure that he could find out.'

It was all a matter of arousing the man's curiosity and Hiei knew that just the fact that it was him asking would pique the Kitsune's interest. But before he set upon that course of action, he was determined to make sure that there were no other clues left for him to find. Without regard to the people who might happen upon him, he allowed the Jagan to open again and he began to scan the area. As expected, there were no traces of demonic energy remaining, beyond that of the fire. There were two faint whispers of spiritual energy remained however, and he began to follow the stronger of the two.

The energy signature led him to the base of a rather large tree. There didn't seem to be anything more unusual about it, but he'd learned long ago that appearances were deceiving. Cautiously he laid a hand upon the bark and the brief image of a young girl with sorrowful blue eyes filled his vision. In the space of a heartbeat, however, it was gone, leaving him to wonder if it had been nothing more than his imagination.

Slowly he shook his head, ready to be done with the whole thing, but there was still one more place that he had to check before he could leave this place. Wasting no time, he followed the second trail of magic and found himself in front of what had to have been a smaller building. As with the house, there was almost no trace of what had once stood here and he almost dismissed the place as unimportant. However, the fact that there was an area of bare earth in the center of the foundation had him pausing.

Slowly he knelt down and grabbed a handful of the dirt. There was the strong taint of magic here, now that he'd actually touched the ground. Briefly he wondered if perhaps it was a sacred spot, perhaps a place where the humans made offerings to their gods, but somehow he didn't think so. No, there was another reason for the energy, he was just missing the pieces to solve the puzzle.

Finally, after deciding that he'd learned all he could from the area he disappeared down the stairs again and began the short journey to Kurama's house. While he didn't live in Tokyo, he wasn't that far away either if one ignored just how large this city was to begin with. Still, given the rate of speed that he could travel at, it wouldn't take long for him to get there at all.

With luck the redhead wouldn't be too busy to assist in giving him a bit of information and if he was... Well, as far as Hiei was concerned it could be set aside. He didn't want to remain in this realm any longer than necessary and there was a good chance that Kurama would need to do some investigating to get him the information he wanted. Fortunately, the kitsune knew how to get a hold of him once something surfaced and in the meantime he wouldn't have to wait around to find out.

A satisfied smile crossed his face then. If this worked out like he planned, he'd be back at the fortress long before nightfall and there would be a chance that Mukuro wouldn't ask him what he'd been doing during the time he was out in the field. No doubt if he were to tell her that he'd been investigating the possible death of a human girl she'd be concerned until she learned it hadn't happened in the Makai. No, after that she'd just assumed that he'd lost his damned mind, which was beginning to sound like a distinct possibility.

Ruthlessly he pushed himself faster and took to leaping across the roof tops of the nearby buildings just to avoid the humans lurking down below. It was a faster method of travel since there was nothing obstructing his progress. The air was also the slightest bit cleaner since the breeze remained unhindered. However, there was nothing that would eliminate the stink of the realm and with every step he took, he was reminded of why he hated to come here in the first place.

So it was with no small measure of relief the he sighted Kurama's house a short distance away, and the redhead that occupied it standing out in the front yard. 'Good, this eliminates the need to alert him to the fact that I'm here. The less time I have to waste by being here the better.'

Without warning he dropped down in front of his former teammate, but he wasn't surprised to see that the man almost seemed to be expecting him. It was entirely possible, he supposed, since he wasn't exactly going out of his way to hide his presence. "Good, you're home. I need some information, Kurama."

"And here I thought you were here on a social call," Kurama said mildly. It was rare to see the apparition and rarer still that it was in the Ningenkai. He could only hope that it wasn't something catastrophic that meant the reformation of the team. "So what can I help you with today. I'm assuming it's important since you came all this way to see me."

Hiei raised a brow but said nothing about the flippant comment that the redhead tossed at him. Instead he decided to get to the point of his visit, "How familiar are you with the shrines in Tokyo?"

"Shrines? As in Shinto shrines?" Kurama raised a brow in surprise. Whatever he'd been expecting, this certainly wasn't it. "I'm afraid I don't know a great deal about them. Our kind generally aren't accepted there and if the caretakers have the even the slightest bit of their abilities still intact... I shouldn't have to tell you what the end result would be of that meeting."

"I haven't asked if you've been to them, I asked how familiar you were with them. I'm sure you've paid attention to the news. Has there been anything strange that you've noticed?" He didn't need a lesson on what humans with purification abilities could do to demons and he certainly wasn't looking to take a tour.

"I'm afraid I'm not sure what you're looking for," Kurama stated, more curious than ever now, "You'll need to give me more information. I haven't seen anything in the news recently, but then again, we aren't always informed of what goes on in Tokyo." The impatient look the apparition gave him was enough to convince him that this was more than idle curiosity. "What's going on, Hiei? You wouldn't come here for no reason."

For a moment, Hiei debated on just how much to tell the man. While he knew that Kurama was one of the best he could recruit to figure something out, he wasn't about to trust him with the knowledge of what had happened to him either. Assuming that the ability that this "power" had demonstrated earlier could be replicated, he'd be a fool to put it in the Kitsune's hands. His trust only went so far, after all.

Finally he sighed, knowing that he'd have to give the redhead something, otherwise it'd be up to him to do all the legwork himself. "I followed a pair of demons across the border today and after disposing of them, something tapped into the Jagan and led me to Tokyo. There'd been a fire there sometime in the past couple of years, and it was demonic in nature."

"Something tapped into the Jagan?" Kurama's voice was incredulous and those few words filled him with concern. Very few things could do such a thing, and assuming that they had the power, he'd always assumed that the implant would destroy the one attempting such a thing.

Unfortunately, Hiei could see the Kitsune's mind at work and the little information he'd been forced to give was far too much for his comfort. He had to steer Kurama back to the problem at hand and away from the fact that his mind had been manipulated.

"Relax, Kurama, it's not as serious as what you're thinking. Whatever it was brushed against it, they didn't invade it," he snapped impatiently, "As best as I can figure, it has to have something to do with that fire. If you can't tell me anything more, then it's pointless for me to remain here any longer."

Kurama wasn't blind to the way the apparition attempted to steer him from what had happened, but for now he allowed it to slide. Getting information from Hiei was difficult at the best of times, and his only chance at getting information lay in getting the man to talk. Sooner or later he'd say something and it would open the door for questions. He just had to remain patient and get to that point. "Hmm, it would help if we knew the name of the shrine in question. We should go inside to talk, someone might overhear."

"Then let them, that's not my concern," Hiei said, brushing the subtle invitation off without a second thought. To go inside would risk dropping his guard and he couldn't afford to do that, not now. Perhaps later, after he learned just what the hell the spirit had wanted when he'd been rendered unconscious, but not until them. "As for a name, I don't have it. It's not like they put up a sign that said 'Here once stood such and such shrine until a demon decided it wanted some human barbecue.'"

Kurama grimaced at the apparition's choice of wording, but he couldn't refute him either. Assuming that it was the site of a demonic killing, it was little wonder that there was nothing that would mark it as a place of worship. Of course, the authorities wouldn't know that it had been a demon that caused the destruction, but he doubted they'd rebuild the shrine regardless. "I suppose I can check public records. If there had been an epidemic of shrine arsons, I'm sure that we would have heard about it. So finding one particular fire shouldn't present a problem. Still, it's not like you to be interested in something like this. I can't help but think you're wanting to look into this for another reason."

"My reasons for looking into this are none of your business. You'll either help me or you won't, just make a decision so I can be on my way," Hiei said, already knowing what the answer would be. Even though Kurama wouldn't appreciate being told to mind his own business, his curiosity was already caught and that was all the advantage he needed.

"You could be a little more agreeable you know, since you are asking for my help," Kurama said, chiding the apparition. Now he was positive that something more had happened, but he was going to have to lure Hiei into telling him and it wouldn't be a quick process. "Fine, I'll look into it when I get the chance and send word if I find anything out. I assume you'll be with Mukuro for the duration?"

"I'm still on the border patrol if that's what you're asking. If I'm out in the field, Mukuro will send word that you need to speak to me," Hiei replied and turned to leave. Now that the redhead was on the case, he was sure that it would be solved quickly. Perhaps then he could forget about the strange power and the control it'd managed to gain over him, if only briefly.

And just like that, the apparition was gone, leaving Kurama standing alone in his yard and contemplating what little he'd learned. 'There's more to it than what he told me, something to do with the Jagan. But what?'

That in itself was the biggest piece of the puzzle. He knew that Hiei couldn't care less about humans, or about the things that occurred in the human realm. To take such an extreme interest in such an event meant that he'd been drawn into the mystery, something had made it personal.

'If it had been Yusuke or Kuwabara, I'd have to say there was a chance that one of the people killed in the fire had shared their memories with them, and they were trying to avenge what had happened. However, Hiei's not going to care about what happened to some nameless human. So what is it?'

His brow furrowed in contemplation and he shook his head. It was pointless for him to remain standing outside since his former teammate had disappeared after being reassured that he'd get the help that had been requested. With his thoughts tied up on this latest quandary, he made his way inside. Perhaps there would be something online about the fire that Hiei had spoken of. If not, there was always the option of going to the public library after midterms were over. They'd have all the records he could ask for filed away in their archives.

It was a few hours later that Hiei made it back to the fortress, and as expected there was a message waiting on him in his quarters. Seeing it laying there on the desk wasn't unexpected, but it wasn't exactly welcomed either. Right now he wanted nothing more than to go to sleep and try to forget the nagging feeling that he was missing something important.

But if there was one thing he'd learned in his time under Mukuro's command, it was that she wouldn't be denied. So he forewent the idea of stripping his boots off, and exited his bedroom. At this time of night, it was highly unlikely that she'd be in her office, so instead he headed towards her private chambers. Fortunately, the corridors were relatively quiet, leaving him in peace for the time being. The shift change had been hours before and it would be morning before the halls became hell to traverse again.

The light shining beneath the door confirmed that his suspicions had been correct, and without bothering to knock, he pushed the door open. It wasn't as if she had anything he hadn't seen before. While they'd never been lovers, she'd been less than conservative when stripping her clothing off in front of him not long after he'd entered her service. Of course, he'd been unconscious in the regeneration tank at the time, but the Jagan had been more than willing to supply the memories of what had happened while he'd been helpless. "You wanted to see me?"

Mukuro looked up upon his entrance, but she didn't bother to get off the bed. She was used to him coming and going as he pleased, and she was fine with that, within reason. "I did, though to be honest I expected you a couple of hours ago. What's the status of the demons you were sent after?"

"Dead, although I'm sure you already knew that," he replied with a snort. Most likely a sentry had been sent out to check on his status when he hadn't returned in a timely manner. If that was indeed the case then they would have seen the corpse of the first demon and her question had been pointless.

The matter of fact way that he'd stated that had her smirking. Hiei knew her quite well and most likely he was perturbed that she'd summoned him for a report when she already knew the facts. However, she had to know just what was so important that he'd abandon his post to venture further into the Ningenkai once the demons were slain. "True, although only one corpse was reported. I trust that you dealt with the second?"

"The threat they posed has been eliminated," he said without bothering to elaborate. He wasn't so foolish as to believe that she wouldn't pick up on a lie, and he really didn't want to have to explain that even he didn't know what had happened to the second demon. "If that was all that you wanted, it could have waited until morning. If there's nothing further, I'm leaving."

Mukuro waited until he turned from her before speaking again, "What business did you have in going there, Hiei?"

"My job. I know you're not as addle brained as Koenma is, so I shouldn't have to point out that it was your orders that I cross the border," Hiei said, turning to give her a skeptical look. Little managed to sneak past her, but still he hoped that what little he gave her would be enough to satisfy her curiosity.

"A convenient excuse, but that doesn't explain your extended absence. I doubt that those two demons were enough to give you much trouble. So, enlighten me, Hiei, what was so important that you had to venture further into the Ningenkai," she said, curious as to what he could possibly be trying to hide. When his jaw tightened, she knew he was about to be stubborn and insist that she didn't know what she was talking about, so she upped the stakes a little. "You stink of the kitsune and I know that he hasn't come calling recently."

"It was a personal matter and I do have free passage across the border. Are you saying that I'm no longer permitted to come and go as I please?" The question hung between them, the tension in the air elevating considerably. Long ago, she'd given him leave to do as he pleased and he remained only because he'd become comfortable with their arrangement. If the rules changed now, he would have to rethink his decision to stay.

Mukuro raised a brow at the apparition. Clearly whatever had occurred was important enough for him to call their arrangement into question. He filled an important position on her team and she had no desire to drive him off. All the same, she doubted that it would come down to that regardless. Sooner or later he would come to her, if only to talk. It was just a question of how much time he would need to resolve whatever issue it was that he was dealing with. "Of course not. However, you must understand my concern when you disappear after a border incursion. You know if it was to check on your sister, you do not have to conceal your actions."

"Then we continue to have an understanding," he said, taking the out that she'd handed to him. He wouldn't elaborate that the little side track had nothing at all to do with his sister. Mukuro had no need to know about that anyway and unless something changed, she'd remain in the dark. "Are we finished?"

"For now," she conceded. Short of reading his memory, there was nothing she could do to gain the information from him. Any order given to make him talk would be steadfastly ignored and she knew it. If there was something seriously wrong, she had enough trust in him to believe he would tell her. For now all that she could do was wait and see if the situation developed into something that would demand her attention. In the meantime, she'd allow him to handle it, she had enough of her own problems to deal with.

Hiei knew that was as clear of a dismissal as he was likely to get and he didn't bother to stick around to see if she came up with more questions. If Kurama unearthed something important, he knew that he'd have to give the information to Mukuro. Most likely she'd be pissed that he hadn't filled her in, but he wasn't going to worry about that problem until it was directly before him.

The door closed quietly behind him and he put the potential problem with Mukuro behind him. There was no use in worrying about it at the moment, not until Kurama contacted him with whatever information he managed to dig up. For now, all he wanted to do was to return to his room and forget this whole fucked up day had ever happened. Tomorrow would be another day of patrolling and with luck, he'd find someone a hell of a lot more interesting than a couple of weak fools who had nothing better to do than cross the border.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The Puppet Master

Author: Bondage Fetish

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: Lemons, language, violence and character death.

Theme: Dangerous Liaisons

Disclaimer: If I owned either Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho, I'd actually be rewriting both series instead of having to content myself with fan fiction of it. And no, I make no money off of this story.

Written for The Deadliest Sin's contest.

Chapter Two

It was nearly a week later before Kurama finally had the chance to pull himself out of the books he'd been forced to immerse himself in for midterms. Normally he didn't mind studying in the least, but he knew that Hiei was still waiting on his answers. Truthfully he was rather surprised that the apparition hadn't popped up again to ask what the hold up was. However, his luck wasn't going to hold out forever and he'd prefer to have something to give to his former teammate instead of nothing but more questions. Dangling tidbits of knowledge to the hybrid would be the easiest way to get his own answers.

And that was precisely the reason why he was at the library now. A quick search on the computer had revealed nothing, which wasn't exactly surprising. Without an approximate date, he had no way of determining just how far back he needed to go.

The problem was, he knew he'd be forced to deal with the same problem here. His best bet lay in the librarian behind the reference desk. If anyone would know where a good starting point would be, it would be her. So he put on his most charming smile and approached the desk, "Excuse me, I was wondering if you might be able to help me find some information."

"I can try," she said, smiling in welcome, "What can I help you with?"

"I'm looking for information on a shrine in Tokyo. One of my friends told me that it had burned down some time ago, yet I can't find any information on it," Kurama replied and leaned forward, engaging the woman in conversation. The surprise that showed on her face nearly had him smiling. No doubt she'd been expecting him to ask for something school related. A book on chemistry perhaps, or something that would be equally frustrating to most of the students who passed through here on a daily basis.

"You'll find the information you're looking for on microfilm, although I must say that's an unusual request.," she said, surprised that he'd want to know of a shrine fire. She knew of the exact event that he spoke of and it was a terrible tragedy in her opinion.

"Well, I'm afraid it's for one of my classes. I have to write an essay on religion and how modern life is affected by it. After consulting with my study partner, I decided that this was a good event to focus on. I'm sure that a lot of people were affected by what happened. Unfortunately I misplaced my notes and I can't remember what year it occurred in," he replied, the lie falling easily from his lips. To tell her that it was none of her business would be terribly rude and it surely wouldn't gain him the help that he needed. The look in her eyes told him that she knew something about it, and that would shorten the amount of time that he would be forced to spend on the search.

"That's easily remedied. It happened five years ago, in October during the Edo Tenka Matsuri festival. I don't think they ever caught the person responsible. There were so many people in the streets, watching the parade," she said before shaking her head. She could only hope that the person who was sadistic enough to do such a thing would get their punishment in the afterlife since it couldn't be meted out in this one.

"That narrows things down considerably," Kurama replied, "thank you, you've been a big help." Now that he had a specific date in mind, it would be simple to find the information. Now it made sense as to why he couldn't find anything about the fire. No one would want such an important festival to be tarnished by something so horrendous. Information was likely to be limited at best, and most likely Hiei would be unsatisfied with the results. However, there was only so much he could do, unless he managed to come across a witness which was highly unlikely.

Determined to find what he could, he ventured into the room where he knew the microfilm was kept. Thankfully the room was mostly deserted, just the way he preferred it. It only took a few minutes to find the slide that he wanted, and carefully he laid it on the reader. It took more than a few minutes before he found the article in question, and he wasn't surprised to find there was very little detail in it.

Sometime between 9:30 and 10pm on the night of the festival, a fire had broken out at the Higurashi shrine. Witnesses claimed that the fire appeared out of nowhere and at first it was believed to be set by some fireworks. However, the fire spread too quickly for that to be the case and arson became an immediate suspicion. Two people had perished in the blaze, the mother and her youngest child. The eldest child was presumed dead although they'd never found her body.

Kurama sighed, there just wasn't a lot to go on. Apparently there _had_ been one survivor, an older man who had served as the priest for many years. Quickly he dug out a pencil and some paper to write down the name. If necessary, he could track the man down and see what information he could get from him.

There were a few eyewitness accounts, but nothing that would lead him to believe that a demon had caused the blaze. However, he trusted Hiei's assessment. Just because the crowds hadn't noticed a demonic presence didn't mean there hadn't been one lurking in the shadows. Still, he couldn't understand why the shrine had been targeted in the first place. There had been no mention of the bodies being mutilated, only burned almost beyond recognition. 'That rules out someone looking for a midnight snack. Perhaps it was personal, or the demon was looking for something in particular.'

That idea had potential since he knew most shrines and temples held a lot of ancient relics and artifacts, some of which might still hold certain powers. Of course, the abilities of each item had probably been lost to the ages since humans with any true powers were few and far between. There was no way of knowing what could have been taken either, since the house and all other buildings had been completely destroyed. There would be little to no evidence of the things they once contained.

Even if he were to go with that particular theory though, it still didn't explain why they'd wish to steal something in the first place. Most holy artifacts couldn't be used by anyone demonic in nature. In fact, touching the wrong one could easily get the demon in question purified. Somehow bragging rights just didn't seem like a big enough draw.'I would have heard if anyone was attempting to usurp my reputation. No, I need to speak to the old man and find out what he knows.'

It was tempting to make a trip to Tokyo to visit the shrine himself, but at the moment he just didn't have the time. Although he trusted Hiei's judgment on the situation, he knew that there were things he was withholding as well. 'I may have to make the time. Even if he hasn't omitted anything important, there may have been some clues that he overlooked.'

Just as he was about to shut the machine off and file the film in its proper place, another piece of the article caught his attention. 'Curious, there had been three other fires set on that day and they believe that they were all set by the same person. If that is indeed the case, whoever this was didn't want anyone to know what they were after.'

Uncertainty was something he disliked intensely, and now that he'd been drawn into this little mystery he was impatient to have it finished. As an afterthought, he made a copy of the article to take with him. Even though there was almost no information there, he had a feeling he would need it for later. If nothing else, this was proof that he could present to Hiei that almost nothing was known about this incident. If he could prove that they needed to look deeper into it by provoking the apparition's suspicious nature, they'd get it solved that much quicker. Once he had the page firmly in hand, he placed the film in the proper draw and exited the room.

Once back in the main room, he gave a polite nod to the librarian who had helped him and began making his way to the door. However, before he made it a familiar voice called out to him. He repressed a sigh when he realized that he was going to have to exchange pleasantries with Keiko, even if it was only for a short amount of time. While the girl was pleasant enough, he didn't have the time for idle conversation.

Only when he was sure that his mask of indifference was in place did he turn around to greet her, "Hello, Keiko. I didn't expect to see you here today."

The brunette gave him a long suffering sigh and a weary smile, "I've got a paper to write for class and the last time I stayed home to study, Yusuke stopped by. This is the last place he'd want to be, so I figure I'd get a few hours in before I have to go home. How have you been?"

"Very well, thank you. I just finished with midterms myself and I'm looking forward to a break," he replied, wishing he could just brush the girl off. However, he knew she wasn't likely to detain him long if she'd come to this place for some peace and quiet. His keen eyes took in the small stack of books she was holding and he smiled, "I'm assuming your paper is on world history?"

"Quantum physics actually, I just escaped from my history class and came here without bothering to drop my books off at home," she said and then looked at the redhead curiously. The only thing he happened to be carrying was a pad of paper and a few loose sheets of computer paper. He'd already said his midterms were over so... "Are you here to get a head start on your studying? I wouldn't mind company if you are."

"No, that's quite all right but thank you for the offer. I'm just here investigating some old news articles for a friend," he replied easily. The girl always had been curious, but this wasn't something that she needed to be involved in. Unless she knew the family that had perished in the fire, she'd be all but useless to him at this point. He was already hindered enough by the lack of information, adding an oblivious female would just make things that much more difficult.

Immediately Keiko's eyes narrowed in concern, "A friend? It doesn't have anything to do with... you know..."

Kurama nearly sighed at the way she cast her eyes upward in an indication of the Reikai. Really, she could have just asked if it had to do with Koenma and the other people in the library would have been none the wiser. "No, everything is quiet where that is concerned. This isn't related to any of that business."

Although he was reassuring her that wasn't the case, Keiko couldn't help but feel she was being lied to. But to outright call the redhead on it would be impossibly rude, and she had no right to demand information from him in the first place. That didn't stop her from trying to catch a peek at the papers he was holding. After all, it wasn't like he was going out of his way to conceal them.

"If you're sure," she said and then trailed off when she caught the headline on the topmost paper, "That's... Kagome's shrine. Shuichi, do you know something about her disappearance?" Both hope and anxiety welled up within her as she awaited his answer. It could be just chance that he was looking into the fire, but somehow she didn't think so. When he stared at her in surprise, she grasped at his free hand, "Please, you have to tell me! What happened to her?"

"Perhaps it would be best if we were to sit down," he said quickly and led her over to a nearby table. Now he was ready to kick himself for his previous thoughts, but he'd had no way of knowing that Keiko might actually have information regarding the shrine. One look at her face though was enough to convince him that he'd been wrong, although he couldn't be sure of just how much she did in fact know. "Tell me, Keiko, how do you know of the shrine?"

"It's not important. Just tell me! Is she alive?" Keiko asked again, desperate for the knowledge of just what had happened to her friend. When he attempted to placate her, she shrugged his hands off, "You know something! What is it?"

Now more than ever he wished that he could dose her with something that would calm her down. However, that was an impossibility with how much attention she was drawing to the both of them. His best bet was to reason with her and hope that this little fit would pass soon. "I can't answer that, Keiko. All I know is what I've read in the newspaper. Hiei is the one who came to me looking for information and now I'm looking into it. But I can't do much if people won't talk to me, and that includes you. So I'll ask again, how do you know of the shrine?"

"I stayed there briefly, back when I was attending the University of Tokyo. My parents could barely afford the cost of my tuition, and staying on campus was an impossibility. One of my mother's friends knew someone in the area and they arranged for me to stay at the shrine. That's how I met Kagome, but she disappeared a few months after I moved there," Keiko said, trying to calm herself down. She couldn't afford to run Kurama off, not now. Then it was unlikely that she'd ever be able to corner him for information again. And she wasn't so much of a fool to think that he might actually care about her mental state after dropping this little bomb on her. 'The only reason he's still here is because he thinks I might know something that could help him.'

The small tidbit of information had him raising a brow in surprise, "You mean she didn't disappear at the same time as the fire?"

This put a whole new spin on things and he was forced to reconsider his earlier theories. It was possible that the girl herself had started the fires, although why she'd do such a thing was unknown. The other possibility was that the demon had kidnapped her for some sort of information, and after he'd gotten it, he'd returned to take whatever he was looking for. In that case, the girl was probably dead and her body just hadn't been found because it was likely somewhere in the Makai.

"No she didn't. Her schedule was really erratic and she'd often disappear for days at a time, but she always came back. The last time though even her family had begun to worry. But I just figured she'd come back like she always did and then I came back here for the holiday. That's when the fire happened. I got a call the next day from her Grandfather and he told me what had happened, but he still couldn't tell me where Kagome was," she explained, hoping that whatever small amount of knowledge she had was enough to help solve the mystery. "Please, Shuichi, are you looking for Kagome? Do you think she might still be alive?"

To this question, Kurama sighed and shook his head, "I'll be honest, Keiko, it's very unlikely. Hiei was at the shrine not that long ago and he made no mention of the girl. The only thing he could say that the fire was not... normal."

Keiko's eyes widened in understanding and she nodded. The redhead wouldn't come out and speak of demons or their abilities in such a public place, but his words threatened to destroy what little hope she still had for her friend. Although she'd managed to control her grief over the situation, having it brought up again so abruptly had opened old wounds. She could only pray that wherever Kagome was, she was safe and sound.

"Kurama," she whispered and turned pleading eyes on him, "find out what happened to her. Please? I... I need to know. I may not have known her long but... she wouldn't just leave her family willingly. She didn't deserve this to happen, none of them did. If you would have met her, you'd understand. I know it's asking for a lot, but if you can help find her... and maybe put her spirit to rest, I'd be grateful."

~Meanwhile~

Deep within the forest some distance from Tokyo, Kagome's spirit stirred restlessly within the jewel. For days she'd been watching, waiting for the apparition to fall asleep and allow her to sift through his memories, but the man had been persistent about remaining awake. It was irritating, but if she were to admit the truth, she only had herself to blame. 'If I'd checked his mind again that first day, I wouldn't have had to wait this long! Stupid, Kagome, you need to stop worrying about whether or not someone is going to notice. They can't touch you here!'

Yet no matter how much she berated herself, she couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of worry. What would happen if someone with enough power, like Mukuro, made a try for the jewel? Would she be able to overpower the demon lord with enough purification energy before she managed to make it to the jewel? It was a question she liked to believe that she had the answer to, however, without it actually occurring, all she had to go on was suppositions.

It was because of her insecurity, and most likely her anxiousness over what he might have seen, that had stopped her from going through his memories of the shrine. But now enough time had passed that it was unlikely that he'd notice her probing, if only he'd go to sleep. 'I should have known that Inuyasha was telling the truth every time he thumbed his nose at us for needing sleep. This guy just takes the cake.'

In fact, she was beginning to wonder if Hiei suffered from a severe case of insomnia and debated on how hard it would be to convince him to try some sleeping pills. As it was, his mind was hovering on that edge like it had done several times since she'd established the connection in the first place. However, she knew that wasn't a guarantee since the least little thing would have him jumping out of bed and her chance would be lost.

So it was a great relief when he did finally slip into slumber and she wasted no time in insinuating herself deeper through the channel. The first thing that she explored was whether or not he had mentioned what had happened to anyone. A wave of consternation filled her when she realized that he'd taken the problem directly to Kurama, the very person that he couldn't trust. 'It's no wonder he's had so many problems with people turning on him. Even I know that if someone burns you once, you keep them at arms length!'

The only consolation that she had was that he hadn't really mentioned what had happened in its entirety. It would be exceptionally difficult to tie the location her spirit rested in with the shrine unless Hiei decided to part with the information he was withholding. However, the conversation between the two gave her the answer about the shrine and she wished that she could weep. The shrine was gone and the status of her family was unknown.

Now she was unsure as to whether or not she wanted to go any further into those memories. Could she handle seeing her birthplace, her home, laying in ruins? There were so many memories tied up in that place and to see it utterly destroyed would surely be her undoing.

However, the knowledge that a demon had caused it made her steel here resolve. There was nothing she could do to take back what had happened, however she had the power of the jewel at her disposal. If the creature responsible was still alive, she'd make sure they paid for what they'd done. It would be difficult to be sure, but she'd use every method at her disposal to track the demon down, even if it meant using Hiei to do it. 'All I'd need is for him to bring that bastard and let me take care of the rest.'

Long ago, thoughts of vengeance would have been foreign to her but centuries of being trapped within the jewel had hardened her to the realities of life. So she braced herself for what was to come and delved deeper into the apparition's mind, needing to see what was left from her childhood. Ruthlessly she skipped past his thoughts of irritation at the time, and settled on what he'd seen. The images though, stopped her cold. 'It's... really gone.'

There was a difference between knowing something and actually seeing proof of the fact, and all the preparation in the world couldn't have prepared her for the reality of the situation. With the exception of the Goshinboku, nothing was the same as when she'd made that final trip through the well.

It was clear that Hiei's assessment had been accurate as well. She could "see" the demonic energy that laced the shrine grounds, tainting everything with its malevolence and overpowering the sacred energy which should have been prominent. That alone would be enough for her to trace the power back to the source and if the person responsible was still alive, there would be hell to pay.

But there was more to the scene that unfolded before her, and she gave an involuntary sob. Three spirits roamed the grounds, looking lost and forlorn. She knew that they could have no peace, not until their spirits were laid to rest and she knew in part that was her fault. She hadn't done enough to protect them, and her family had paid the ultimate price. Were they waiting for her to come make things right?

Oh how she wished to be able to reach out and touch them, reassure them that she would make things right again. The afterlife was surely better than being tied to the spot of their horrific deaths and she had to wonder if she could speak to them, could they give up their eternal suffering? Just because she was bound to this world, trapped within a cursed jewel with no hope of escape didn't mean she'd wish that they'd be doomed to suffer as well.

Before she could ponder the problem further, a violent tug on her mind had her recoiling quickly. For some reason the apparition was awakening, and her tentative hold on his mind slipped through her fingers. Without having him in close proximity, she couldn't hope to control him any longer.

Uneasily Hiei sat up, pushing himself away from the bed. A frown marred his face as he tried to figure out just what he'd been dreaming of. Having a nightmare wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence for him, however, this was missing the distinct feel of the terror that came with free falling from the island.

Instead he was assaulted with a grief so intense, yet completely unfamiliar that he had to wonder just where it originated from. It was, he supposed, what he might feel if he learned Yukina had died, but it was missing the smoldering anger that would surely follow from being unable to protect her.

A scowl marred his face and he moved to put his boots on. He didn't have time for this, nor did he desire to try and figure out just what a dream that he couldn't remember meant. Time was running short and he'd been hoping that he could catch up on some sleep before he was summoned by Mukuro to attend the annual meeting with Enki, Koenma, Yomi, Kurama, and Yusuke, assuming the Toushin even bothered to show up this time.

'That would be a miracle considering he doesn't give a rat's ass for the politics behind keeping his precious world safe.' Of course, he couldn't exactly blame Yusuke for his view points. Give him an ass to fry any day and he was happy but sticking him in a room to discuss policies? It was pointless for him to even be there, but Koenma wanted the demonic members of the old team present to give their opinions on how things were working. His lip curled in disgust at having to deal with Koenma's demands for the border to be more heavily patrolled. 'If he was that damned concerned he should be sending his own troops to the border as well. No, the brat just wants us to be jumping through hoops because it keeps his father off his ass.'

The slight swell of energy in the air told him that his time was up and as expected, an imp appeared from nowhere. "Let me guess, I'm expected in the conference room."

"Yes, Lord Hiei. Mukuro summons you to the chambers immediately."

"Inform her that I'm on my way," he replied, trying not to allow his resignation to show. There was a small hope that the meeting would be short, but he wasn't going to count on it. The only consolation that he had was that he'd have a chance to speak with Kurama after it was over and find out if he'd learned anything yet.

Quickly he grabbed his cloak from the back of a nearby chair and threw it over his shoulders. Now that the message was delivered, it wouldn't be proper to take his time, not that he much cared for the dispositions of the people he'd be meeting with. However, pissing them off would likely drag the meeting out even longer than it normally would, and that was something to be avoided if at all possible. So he wasted no time in making his way to the conference room and as soon as he opened the door, his lips tightened into a thin line, he was going to kill the both of them. "Tell me why, exactly, I'm forced to be here if not only Yusuke, but Kurama as well can't be bothered to attend and deal with this pointless bullshit?"

Unaware of the stir he'd helped to cause, Yusuke was currently seated at a restaurant with Keiko and waiting on lunch to be delivered to their table. Oh, he'd been aware of the fact that there was a meeting he was supposed to attend, but just like the last two years he'd brushed this one off as well. As far as he was concerned, Mukuro's team was doing a fine job and the incursions over the border had been minimal at best. Had they been twice as frequent he might have cause for concern, however that was not the case and he felt no guilt in letting the others deal with it.

Especially when he had things to deal with on this end that needed his attention. Case in point, Keiko. She was being exceptionally withdrawn today which was rather unusual. When she'd asked him to accompany her more than a week ago, he'd only accepted because it did get him out of the meeting in the Makai. A day of following her from store to store was preferable to listening to the statistics that were sure to be prattled about at length.

However, Keiko had only taken him to two stores and her normal forays with trying on clothes had been strangely absent. Something was bothering his girlfriend and he was determined to figure out what it was. "All right, Keiko. What gives? You've been acting weird all day and I doubt it's because of your classes, so spill."

Keiko frowned, unsure of whether or not that she should even mention what was bothering her. After all, Yusuke had gotten to know Kagome as well during the times that he'd come to visit her at the shrine and her disappearance had bothered him as well. Yet, this didn't seem to be the kind of thing to keep from him either, not when considering the fact that both Hiei and Kurama were his friends. Finally she sighed, and quit toying with the straw in her drink, "Do you remember Kagome?"

"The girl you used to room with, back in Tokyo. Yeah, what about her?"

"Kurama's looking into her disappearance and the fire at the shrine, but he wouldn't tell me why. Just that it had something to do with Hiei," Keiko said quietly, her mind still in turmoil over the fact that it had been brought up after all this time.

Immediately Yusuke's attention was caught and he looked at the girl curiously, "That's odd. I didn't know that Kurama knew her."

"That's just it, he didn't. After he left I went and talked to the librarian he'd been speaking to a few minutes before I arrived, he didn't even know when the fire had happened," she said, still unsure of what to make of the situation. "Yusuke, do you know what's going on? Do you think they might know who did it? Kurama said that the fire wasn't normal."

"I haven't seen him in a few weeks, so this has to be something new," Yusuke said, pondering over this new development, "He specifically said the fire was demonic?"

Keiko shook her head, "He was careful to say that it wasn't natural because he didn't want someone listening in, and you should do the same. Keep your voice down, someone might hear you." Just because the few tables that surrounded them were empty didn't mean that sound wouldn't travel.

"Screw them. If it wasn't "normal", that might explain why the case hasn't been solved. The authorities can barely keep up with things as it is," he said, his voice growing thoughtful, "The fire happened after the border came down right? So why didn't Koenma let one of us know that there had been an attack?"

Keiko didn't have an answer, considering how often Koenma had been on Yusuke's back about demons that had made it across the border. While they didn't make it often, there had been a couple instances where he'd been forced to go hunting. "Can't you ask him then? If nothing else, he could tell you whether or not Kagome's still alive, right?"

"I don't see why not," he said and then fixed Keiko with a serious look, "You know that if it was a demon who did this, she's probably dead, right?"

The chance of a demon leaving her alive were virtually nonexistent. However, they couldn't know for sure without checking with the Reikai to make sure her soul was processed. If she wasn't dead, her options still weren't good and there was a likely chance that she'd been turned into some sort of slave. With attractive as she'd been the last time he'd seen her, he could easily imagine the kind of torture that she'd been put through.

"I know, but don't we owe it to her to make sure? They didn't have to take me in, and they accepted you without question, remember?" Keiko insisted, hoping that Yusuke felt as strongly as she did about solving Kagome's disappearance.

"Don't worry, I'll look into it but Koenma's in a meeting today and it'll be hell getting him out of it," he said, knowing that he didn't dare contact the demigod now to ask for a personal favor. Most likely Koenma would be more than a little pissed off at him for not bothering to show up, and he'd probably tell him in polite terms to fuck off.

Her heart sank hearing that they'd have to wait, but then she brightened considerably. Koenma wasn't the only one with access to the records. "What about Botan? She'd be able to tell us!"

Yusuke had to admit that the idea had merit and it would get him off the hook with Koenma. If he didn't have to fact the demigod anytime soon, the man would have calmed down by then. Quickly he nodded, giving his agreement, "All right, I'll contact Botan after we finish lunch. Where's our food anyway?"

"Who cares," Keiko said and tossed a handful of bills on the table to cover their drinks, "We can eat later, let's get a hold of her now." To say she was impatient was a bit of an understatement and the look of surprise on Yusuke's face would have been amusing under any other circumstances. Without waiting for him to protest, she snatched up her purse and grabbed his hand to all but drag him from the restaurant. "Come on!"

"I'm coming, geez," he groused but allowed himself to be led from the restaurant. Several looks of surprise were thrown their way, but he didn't much care. They'd paid, that was all that mattered. Well, that and wherever Keiko was dragging him off to. "You mind cluing me in on where we're going? It'll look like we're crazy if we just start talking to thin air you know?"

"Of course I know that, I'm not stupid, Yusuke," she said and dragged him down a side alley. She wasn't afraid of who might be lurking down there, not when she had him by her side. Any person who thought that they might be an easy target had one hell of a surprise coming to them.

"Gee, Keiko, if you aren't careful people might think we're coming down here to do something... a bit more fun than just talking," he said, giving her a lewd look. The small smack he received in the arm had him chuckling. No matter how much time past, she just wasn't going to change. Knowing that if he didn't get a move on she was going to start nagging, he pulled out the communicator. It was one of the few remnants he had from his days as spirit detective, and at times he wondered why he still carried it. Now though, he was glad that he did. It took a few moments, but before long Botan's face appeared on the screen. "Hey, Botan. Do you have a minute? We need to talk."

And as expected, it only took a moment for her to appear out of nowhere, rendering the communicator unneeded. "That was quick, guess you weren't busy."

Immediately Botan's expression became one of irritation, "Yusuke! You're supposed to be in a meeting with Koenma and the others! What are you doing here?"

"You know that they don't need me to be there," Yusuke said, brushing the question off. "Besides, I had a date with Keiko and I wasn't about to run out on her so don't bother with the lecture. We need your help."

"Of course you're needed there," Botan said, her voice tight with indignation. If Koenma could clear his schedule, then Yusuke could as well. "So if you're not wanting to talk about the meeting, whats could you possibly want to talk about?"

Impatiently she tapped her foot while waiting for the answer. So help her if this wasn't important Keiko was going to end up watching while she knocked the girl's boyfriend unconscious. Then she was more than ready to drag his limp body to the meeting and deposit him straight into Koenma's care. 'It would serve him right. How are people supposed to take his authority seriously when he can't even be bothered to show up!'

"There was a fire a few years back, not long after one of our friends disappeared and we need to know if she's dead or not," Yusuke said, ignoring the look that the ferry girl was giving him. One way or another he intended on finding out what the girl knew, even if it meant going to the Reikai to hunt through the records personally.

'Yusuke, you know I can't divulge information like that without Koenma's permission, all death records are sealed," Botan said uneasily. The request was odd to say the least, but she wasn't allowed to interfere in the lives of humans and if this girl was still alive and Yusuke went looking, it could change the fate that had been planned for her. If that happened, Koenma would have her ass for getting involved.

"Botan, you know I'm going to find out one way or another, and don't tell me this is none of my business. The fire was demonic in origin, so if Koenma has a problem with that, you can tell him I'm doing my job here and trying to keep the Ningenkai safe," Yusuke stated flatly. He was unwilling to take no for an answer, not when Keiko was depending on him to find out. Sure, the girl asked for things more often then she'd like to admit, but this was important to her and he wouldn't tell her no.

"Wait, a demonic fire? When did this happen?" Botan asked, blinking in surprise. Most of the times a demon managed to sneak through they were apprehended before they could do any damage. If something of that nature had happened and Koenma was unaware of it, the man would have a fit.

"About five years ago, at the Higurashi shrine," Keiko said, finally speaking up. She'd been willing to allow Yusuke to talk, but the ferry girl seemed to be resistant to answering his questions. Botan couldn't hold out against her as easily and she knew it. After all, it had been her insistence that had finally earned her and Shizuru safe passage to the Dark Tournament.

"The Higurashi... shrine?" Botan paled at the mention of the shrine. She was very familiar with the case and she wanted to know why they were bringing it up now.

"Apparently Kurama's been looking into it at Hiei's insistence. You want to tell me what's going on there that's so interesting? And while you're at it you can tell us if Kagome's safe or not, I know you know," Yusuke said, immediately picking up on the fact that she knew of the incident they were speaking of. That alone was enough to convince him that there was something odd going on. What were the chances that she'd knows of the very event that both Kurama and Hiei were looking into?

"There's not really that much I can tell you both," Botan began, her fingers caressing the wood of her oar as she thought over the details of the case, "there was a fire there, as you already knew and yes a demon caused it. There were two people that were killed in the fire and I was the one that was sent to collect the spirits, but they refused to come with me."

"Is it because they died in the fire? I've heard that violent deaths can tie the people to the place that it happened," Keiko asked, trying to figure out just why Kagome's mother and brother would refuse to follow the ferry girl.

"Well, that does happen sometimes, but that wasn't the case in this instance. When I couldn't tell them what had happened to Kagome, they refused to budge. I tried telling them that they couldn't stay there any longer, but they were rather insistent in saying they couldn't leave yet," Botan said, recounting the exact details behind the conversation. The woman had been rather polite but insistent whereas the younger boy had been downright rude.

Having intimate knowledge of being dead, Yusuke could just imagine the spirits in question telling Botan where to go. He hadn't wanted to leave either and in the end, he'd been forced to jump through hoops in order to regain his life. Quirking a brow at the taller of the two girls, he continued to probe her for information, "So did they give you a reason why they wouldn't leave then? Koenma didn't offer them a deal in order to come back to life did he? Cause last I heard you couldn't come back if you didn't have a body."

"The rules haven't changed, Yusuke. Their bodies were burned beyond recognition, so it'd be pointless for Koenma to offer them a second chance like that. No, the reason they didn't want to go was because of the daughter, Kagome. They demanded to know if she was still alive somewhere, but I couldn't answer their questions. I even looked up her file and it's like she never existed, but they weren't willing to accept that either. I remember speaking to Koenma about it, and he brushed it off as a clerical error," Botan said, her brow furrowing in thought. Such mistakes weren't exactly uncommon, but she was sure of one thing, if her soul had passed through, they would have had some record of it. "If she's dead, most likely her soul was taken by the demon who started the fire in the first place. If that's the case, we wouldn't have been able to find any trace of it anyway."

"What about her grandfather? Would he know where she was? The last time I talked to him she was still missing, but maybe he's found her since then," Keiko said, grasping at any straws that she could find. If even the Reikai couldn't find the girl, then she had to accept the strong possibility that she was dead. But she refused to give up hope before all of her options were exhausted.

Botan shook her head, her eyes reflecting the sadness she felt for the girl's plight, "The grandfather passed away last year and when I went to ferry his soul, his response was the same. He refused to leave and he returned to the shrine to wait with the others. I'm afraid that their souls will remain there in that place for an eternity. Even Koenma cannot force them to leave if they do not wish to go."

"Then there's nothing that can be done?" Keiko asked, distraught over the fact that they'd apparently hit a dead end.

"Unfortunately not," Botan said, confirming the girl's suspicions, "Without finding Kagome, there's not much that we can do. Something the mother said was rather strange though. It just didn't make any sense at all."

"Well, are you going to tell us, or are you going to make us guess?" Yusuke asked and then promptly winced when Keiko elbowed him in the side.

"She kept crying about how the well had burned down and that she couldn't come back. When I asked her what she meant though, Souta stopped her from saying more. He said that someone named Inuyasha would make sure that she got home safely," Botan replied uneasily. She'd even went so far as to hunt through the records looking for anyone named Inuyasha, but the only record she had of anyone by that name was a hanyou that had died centuries before. That clearly couldn't be the same person that the spirit had been referring to, so again she'd found herself at a standstill.

The mention of the well had Keiko blinking in surprise, "There was a well on the property. Has anyone looked into it? Maybe it was a portal into the Makai or something!"

At this, Botan gave a nervous laugh and shook her head, "No, Koenma didn't have the man power to spare at that point. Besides, all portals in the Ningenkai have been marked and there wasn't one anywhere near the shrine."

"Then we need to get them to talk. That's the only way we're going to find out what they were talking about, it's the only lead we have," Yusuke said, his mind mulling around just how he was going to convince them to open up. "What about Kuwabara?"

"You mean by letting one of them possess him so they can speak to us?" Botan asked, her tone one of skepticism, "Yusuke, if they weren't willing to talk to me before, I doubt that'll change now just because you ask."

"Yeah well, they didn't know you. They know both me and Keiko," he said, convinced that this was the way they needed to go. "Kuwabara's got a way with dead people, if anyone can get them to talk, it'll be us."

"Yusuke, you don't even know that he'll want to be drawn into something like this. He was perfectly happy going back to living a normal life," Botan said, uncertain as to whether or not this was even going to work. She didn't want to get Keiko's hopes up regarding her friend, only to have them crushed if the man declined to help.

"Trust me, he'll be willing to help. Just tell him that some of Keiko's friends are trapped at the shrine and he'll come running. It'll take us some time to grab a train to get there, so we'll meet you both there," Yusuke said, knowing that the ferry girl would manage to convince him. If nothing else, Kuwabara's deep sense of responsibility with his gift would cause him to come. The man couldn't stand the fact that someone might possibly be trapped and unable to help themselves. The incident at the Dark Tournament with Dr. Ichigaki had proven that much.

"All right, Yusuke, I'll see what I can do," Botan said, even though she had her misgivings. Nothing said the spirits would be willing to talk to him, but it was worth a shot.

Keiko watched the ferry girl disappear and looked at her watch, gaging the amount of time it would take to get to the train station, "Come on, Yusuke. If we hurry we can catch the two o'clock train. And before you ask, yes, I'll buy your ticket."

It was nearly three hours later when Yusuke and Keiko arrived at the shrine, and neither of them were surprised to see both Kuwabara and Botan waiting on them. Neither one of them had ventured up the stairs though and they were certain it was out of courtesy. Immediately Yusuke picked up on how uneasy the redhead was, and he really couldn't blame him. He hadn't even stepped foot on the property yet and the place was already giving him the creeps.

"Hey, glad you could come, Kuwabara," he said once they came within conversing distance, "Got any feelings about the place yet?"

Kuwabara didn't bother answering him immediately, but instead turned to look up the stairs, "Somethin' bad happened here, Urameshi. I'm not sure what, but I can feel it. They're sad, and waiting for something."

That had been pretty much that the answer that Yusuke had expected and he nodded, "Yeah, they're waiting for a girl named Kagome. Are you ready to talk to them, see if they can give us any clues where she might be?"

"We can try. I don't know if they'll talk to me though since it doesn't quite work like that. In order to hear them they'd need to possess one of us," Kuwabara stated as he began to climb the stairs, knowing that the others would follow him.

"Or Botan can just repeat everything that they say," Yusuke said, giving the woman a considering look. He knew that possession was a dicey thing at best, not to mention rather having a rather limited time frame. Assuming that this conversation went anywhere, they might be here for far longer than an hour.

"Yeah, or that," Kuwabara said and repressed a shiver. Even though Botan had told him that the fire had happened years ago, he could still feel the pain and emotions of the people that had perished in it. It was a horrible way to die, and he hoped that he could give them some measure of peace.

"I know that you're here," he whispered into the wind, knowing that the ghosts were close, "and I wanna help you find your daughter Kagome. Will you talk to me?"

"What do you know about my sister?" Souta said, moving closer to the tall redhead. He'd been curious as to their presence, especially since he recognized three of the people there. Immediately he turned to glare at the ferry girl, "And you, I told you we weren't going anywhere with you!"

Kuwabara's eyes widened in surprise when he heard the boy's voice plain as day, "Wow, I didn't know that my powers growing stronger would have this side effect! Now, don't worry about Botan, she's not planning on taking you anywhere. Right now all we want to do is to help find your sister. Do you have any idea where she is?"

Souta immediately became suspicious and glared up at the taller man even though he knew that the human couldn't see him. Having these people show up so soon after having a demon stop by couldn't be a coincidence and he wasn't anywhere near as trusting as his sister was. "Why should I tell you anything?"

"Because our job is to help people. We keep the world safe from demons and if your sister is in trouble, we need to know," Kuwabara said, trying to gain the boys trust. He could feel the other two spirits moving closer and knew they had to be listening to what he had to say.

"Then you should have been here, doing your job to protect my daughter and grandson! What kind of people are you, picking and choosing like that. You claim to protect people from demons? What proof do you have other than words meant to confuse?" Grandpa spat out, anger coloring his voice. What he'd suffered all those years, knowing what had happened to his family was nothing compared to what they'd gone through!

"They couldn't be everywhere at once! They had other cases, some so important that the world might have ended! Is that what you would have wanted? If the barrier between the worlds had fallen, the entire human race would have been decimated by demons," Botan said, stamping her foot in indignation. Sure, a lot of things had happened that they couldn't control, but they were small issues compared to the cases that the team had been put on instead.

Grandpa looked at the blue haired female skeptically, "What barrier do you speak of, girl? And assuming you're telling the truth, why don't you have more people protecting it? How can we trust you to find my granddaughter when you can't even get that right?"

"Don't tell me what we should have been doing. The Reikai Tantei were sent out on the most important missions, and this one didn't even cross Lord Koenma's desk at the time, but we're here now. The sooner you tell us what you know, the sooner we can get on with finding your granddaughter," Botan said impatiently. She didn't expect these people to understand the importance of what she was saying,especially seeing that most humans were oblivious to the existence of demons. They just happened to get caught up in something they shouldn't have been a part of.

"You must excuse my father," Mrs. Higurashi said at last, realizing that they weren't going to get anywhere with the way tempers were flaring, "he's understandably upset by what happened. Maybe if you explained to us what this... Reikai Tantei team is. What's their purpose?"

"Like I said, we protect the human world. When a demon comes across the border, we apprehend them," Kuwabara said, glad that someone levelheaded managed to step in between Botan and the old man. He was beginning to wonder if having the ferry girl there was a bad idea. Obviously there was some bad feelings there, at least on the part of the young boy. He hadn't stopped glaring at her yet.

Mrs. Higurashi stared at them all critically, "Just demons? What about the humans that kill people every day? Do you just leave them to the justice system here?"

"Normally, yes... but there are special cases that demand our attention. If it's an important enough matter, like if the person has high spirit energy then the team is send out after them as well, and they're apprehended just like everyone else. Lord Koenma is the one that passes judgment over them all," Botan said quietly. The few people who learned of the spirit world and its purpose generally didn't take it well when they learned that for the most part, the Ningenkai was left on their own. However, in instances like Sensui, they were forced to step in.

Immediately Mrs. Higurashi became guarded. The importance of the ferry girl's words were not lost on her and she just knew that Kagome would be considered one of those special cases. How could she not be when her daughter was the guardian of a precious artifact with immense power? "And these humans that your... Lord Koenma passes sentence on. What happens to them?"

"Well," Botan began uncertainly, "it depends on what they've done. Some of them might only come away with imprisonment for a specific amount of time. Others... could have their souls removed and then destroyed, it all depends on the circumstances.

Souta looked to his mother, his eyes wide with horror. He'd known just where she'd been going with the questioning, and it didn't look good at all. Kagome hadn't done anything wrong, at least not on purpose. But it still didn't change the fact that she'd shattered the jewel and a lot of people had died. Even if she was still alive and these people found her, there was a good chance she wouldn't stay that way for long. And if she was already dead... her soul could very well be destroyed. He had no reason to put his trust in these people, regardless of whether or not Yusuke and Keiko were her friends.

"I'm afraid that we cannot help you," Mrs. Higurashi said after a moment's thought. Given what they said, if she revealed what had happened to Kagome with her trips to the past, it might give them a starting place of where to look. But would that be doing her daughter any favors if they found her just to condemn her for what had happened? No, at that point she'd just have to continue to put her trust in Kagome, and pray that she was safe. In the meantime however, she would not give up her silent vigil.

"Are you sure? I mean, anything at all would give us a starting point. I know you want your daughter found," Kuwabara stated, trying to appeal to the other woman. He could feel her uncertainty, and he had a feeling that she knew more than what she was telling them. "Think of what she could be going through right now! That's the reason you refuse to move on right? You need to know for yourself that she's safe?"

"And turning her over to you people would be any better? Like I said, we cannot help you. Leave this place now, you no longer have any reason to be here," Grandpa stated firmly, dismissing them completely. He'd known they were trouble the moment that they'd arrived, and they'd proven him right. Kagome was better off wherever she was now, rather than in their hands and being punished for something she couldn't control.

"But..." Botan started before falling silent. Already the spirits were leaving them, most likely returning to the tree where she'd seen them at the first time she came to this place. "Ohhh, you stubborn, old goat, why can't you see reason?"

She stamped her foot when the insult garnered no reaction and she turned back to face the others, "We should go, apparently they don't care enough to want Kagome found."

"But what do we do then?" Keiko asked, unsure of just what had happened that she'd missed. "Maybe if I try to talk to them, it'll make a difference."

"I doubt it. These people are stubborn and obviously they're hiding something to do with her," Botan replied irritably, "I should return to the Reikai and start going through the records again. There may not be a file on Kagome, but there has to be something about the shrine itself. If I can find that, it might give us a starting point on what's going on here."

When Keiko looked ready to protest, Yusuke put his hand on her shoulder, "Let it go for now. You know as well as I do they'd want her found. Somethings going on here and they're worried about what we're going to do to her. They're not going to give us anything, not when they think we're going to hurt her."

The look on his girlfriend's face turned to one of understanding and he gave her shoulder a slight squeeze. If he were in the old man's position, he probably would have done the same thing, seeing as there wasn't anything that he wouldn't do to protect his own family. Yet at the same time he knew Kagome well enough to know that she wouldn't have done something wrong, not on purpose. But whether or not the Reikai would take that into consideration, he didn't know. All he could do was wait and when the time came, speak on the girl's behalf if necessary. Until then, he had other things to deal with, like finding out just what the hell Kurama's part was in all this.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: The Puppet Master

Author: Bondage Fetish

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: Lemons, language, violence and character death.

Theme: Dangerous Liaisons

Disclaimer: If I owned either Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho, I'd actually be rewriting both series instead of having to content myself with fan fiction of it. And no, I make no money off of this story.

Written for The Deadliest Sin's contest.

**Chapter Three**

Kagome's mood was one of impatience and she wished that there was some way that she could hurry the process of getting Hiei to sleep along. For someone who thrived on fighting, his need to fight had been quiet as of late, and she had to wonder if it was a possible side effect of the bond with her.

Had he been his normal self, she would have had ample opportunities to feed the jewel the precious youki that it needed, however, the apparition just hadn't cooperated. At first she'd been patient, passing it off as an after effect of crossing the border. However, when he'd nearly reached the mark that would indicate a week, she began to worry. She'd finally come to terms with the fact that she'd been draining his energy like some psychic vampire, he was making things increasingly difficult for her to succeed in doing so.

It was hell on her nerves not to reach out to him in an attempt to push him deeper into sleep. She knew that it wouldn't do any good, not at this distance. Most likely, it would have the opposite effect and she'd be back at square one. 'I can't let that happen. I can feel the other souls in the jewel weakening and if I wait too much longer, it'll be too late.'

Nor did she really have a choice in just what form of energy she could take from him at this point. Since he clearly hadn't been involved in any intense battles, there was only one other option available to her, and she had to take it. 'Go to sleep dammit. All this waiting has got to be worse than actually doing it!'

The extra time had given her opportunity to plan her attack, even if her confidence still wasn't at its best. In the short time they'd been connected, she knew that it would take more to attract him than the average male. Nor would he be swayed by the helpless, damsel in distress act either. Hell, just the fact that she was human was likely to be a turn off, so she was prepared to up the stakes. 'I guess it helps that in dreams I can take whatever form I want. Otherwise I'd be screwed, and not in the good way.'

Unable to do anything else, she waited and when the time came, she pounced upon his vulnerable mind. It was deceptively simple to influence the dream that he was about to have, especially since he tended to think of the freedom that came with living in the forest. So she allowed the slightest of smirks to cross her lips and she closed her eyes, willing herself to appear as something that would entice him, yet not seem out of place either.

When she opened her eyes again, she didn't have to look to know how she appeared. A gentle breeze caressed the wings on her back and she began setting off in the direction that she knew that he would be. And within moments she had found him, although she was slightly surprised at his appearance and she allowed it to show on her face.

Immediately Hiei looked up when the sound of a twig snapping caught his attention, and his eyes narrowed, "What are you doing here?"

"Are you... hurt?" Kagome asked in a near whisper and pressed herself up against the tree that she was hiding behind. This was all a part of the game, and to act bold or sure of herself would surely give her away.

Hiei nearly scoffed at her antics. It was the typical curiosity of a wood nymph that had drawn her to this place, although why she wasn't running in fear was unknown. Whatever the reason, it didn't concern him, "Of course I'm not hurt, the blood isn't mine, so go along with your business."

Cautiously Kagome stepped away from the tree and advanced on him, her wings twitching in nervous anticipation, "Are you sure? Wounds do not have to be physical to pain you."

Carefully she tilted her head to the side, as if unsure of what his answer would be and she took another step closer to him. She was so close now, so close that if she reached out she could touch him. "This place is peaceful, sacred. You can rest here and no one will come, I promise."

"Sacred? I doubt it, otherwise I wouldn't be here," he replied, unsure of just what the woman wanted. There was no peace, not for him, not anywhere. It didn't matter what she said, that's the way things were with him. He held the very proof of that fact smeared across his chest, the blood of his last opponent.

Lightly she giggled beneath her hand and moved even closer. It was amazing that he hadn't outright told her to get the hell away from him, but she also knew why. Wood nymphs were well sought after, a prize that any demon would be proud to claim. It wasn't in the fact that they were so rare, and most demons didn't seek them out believing they could catch one. No, it was in the slight whispers of power they used to enchant their callers, but in the end, the only ones caught were those that were ready to be taken. They were as elusive as they were powerful, and Kagome was wasting no time in exploiting that knowledge.

"You're here because you want to be, isn't that enough?" she asked and walked passed him, close enough that her wings brushed against his arm teasingly. To throw herself at him now would be a mistake and spook him. No, she had to draw him in, make him desire her and only then could she take what she needed.

The slight tingling in his arm caused his brows to furrow, but he answered her question anyway, "I go where I please. Shouldn't you be off, finding someone else to bother?"

The fact that she'd even remained this long baffled him. By all rights, she should have never revealed herself to him, much less questioned him for as long as she had. Even he knew that wood nymphs were solitary creatures, so why would she look to him for company, if that's what this was?

"This is my home," she explained, giving him a slight smile before she perched herself on a nearby boulder, "Where else would I go? You must be tired, weary from the days travels. Or perhaps you would prefer to bathe? There is a spring nearby where you would not be disturbed."

That in itself was the perfect reason for him to disrobe and from there it would be far easier to seduce him. It was just a matter of getting him to relax his guard enough to get to that point, and that was the problem.

Before he could refute her claim she was standing before him and her fingers were tracing along the streaks of rapidly drying blood. As before, her touch caused his skin to tingle slightly, however it wasn't painful in the least. So for now, he wasn't going to remove her hand at the wrist for having the audacity to touch him. However, he wasn't about to allow her curiosity to go unchecked either and he quickly grasped her wrist, "What game are you playing at, woman?"

Kagome stared at him with wide, innocent eyes, although she knew that wouldn't have that great of an affect on him. "Is it... wrong to offer that which you seek? It isn't often that one seeks the solitude that this glade offers. Can't you feel it? Your aura demands acknowledgment and the spirits are helpless to your whims. Was that not your intention? Did you not come here with desire?"

"You know nothing of my desires, woman," he said flatly and dropped her wrist. The nymphs were naive in the ways of the world and she couldn't possibly realize just how she had sounded just now. If he were to take her up on that "offer" she'd most likely vanish before the act could be completed. No, he wouldn't be a party to such a thing, not when she had no idea what she was asking for.

"You're wrong," she whispered and slowly dropped to her knees in front of him. She maintained eye contact with him, knowing that if she lost it even for a moment the spell would be broken. She could feel the desire beginning to build, filling the air with a tension that couldn't be ignored. Carefully she ran her hands along his upper thighs, caressing the hard muscles beneath the black fabric of his pants. "I can feel your desire, and I know what you want. I can show you, if you wish."

The liberties she was taking with his body had him scowling, yet he couldn't bring it in himself to pull away. Instead he grabbed a fistful of her long, black hair and held her head in place, "Don't even think of starting something that you have no intentions of finishing. I'll not be played for a fool."

"Then we have an agreement then, yes?" she asked quietly. When he only continued to glare at her, she moved her hands up to the waistband of his pants and began to pull the belts free. While she still felt trepidation over what she was about to do, this was her only option. To let it slip through her fingers now would be disastrous, and she couldn't afford to hesitate.

When the belts were removed and his pants had slid down over his well toned thighs, she moved in closer. The fist in her hair had tightened considerably, but she had no intentions of stopping. She could only pray that he wouldn't find her lacking due to her inexperience and turn her away.

For a moment Hiei was sure that she was going to change her mind. Every movement she made had become hesitant, like she was unsure of what she was doing. It was understandable, he reasoned, given that her contact with others was so limited. But still, he wasn't going to wait for long and he wasn't shy about letting her know that. When his grip in her hair didn't provoke a response, he pulled her head closer, "Are you actually going to do something with that mouth of yours besides talk, or are you wasting my time?"

The flash of irritation in her eyes made him smirk. So she wasn't completely helpless to what his aura commanded, like she'd claimed and that just made her that much more alluring. When her lips wrapped around the head of his cock, he growled in pleasure. It'd been far too long since he'd indulged in the pleasures that a woman could offer him, and even longer since he'd taken a virgin to bed. Knowing this, he was certain his patience wouldn't last for long, but he'd give her a few minutes to become accustomed to the idea of sucking him off before he took control. "That's it, take more of it in. Show me what you can do with your mouth."

It was then that he decided he rather liked watching this woman struggle to take more of his cock in and he knew the moment that she reached her limits. However, that wasn't going to be enough, not in the long run and he knew it. Determined to see just how far he could go, he began thrusting into her mouth, relishing in the way her tongue worked at the underside of his shaft. It was only when he triggered her gag reflex that he stopped, pausing only long enough for her to catch her breath before his hips began thrusting again.

This time, however, there was nothing gentle about his movements and when her hands tightened on his thighs, he pinned her head in place, holding her there for several long moments. The feel of her swallowing around his turgid length had him groaning in need. What she lacked in experience and skill was more than made up just by how she felt. Right now he couldn't even imagine how tight she would be when he finally bent her over and took possession of her body.

It was only when she whimpered that he let go of her hair and immediately she pulled away, fighting for breath. When she glared at him though, he smirked and began stroking his cock with purpose, "Are you still so certain that you want this from me, woman?"

Kagome's glare didn't lessen in the least, but she'd expected this much from one such as him. Arrogance dripped from his every word and he was self assured in everything that he did. No doubt he was a possessive lover, demanding that his partner give everything over to pleasure. However, she wasn't about to back down now just because he liked having his dick sucked. 'The bastard is taunting me, trying to see if I'm going to run away. Like hell if that's going to happen.' Giving him a saucy look, she moved in again, this time doing things like _she_ wanted. Instead of taking his shaft into her mouth, she ran her tongue along the underside before sucking on the tip lightly. She was slightly surprised when he didn't react immediately to her teasing, nor was she going to give him the chance to take control again.

Before the apparition could do more than blink at her in surprise, Kagome wrapped both of her hands around his needy flesh and began stroking in time to the movements of her mouth. Even though she was only doing this to get the energy that she needed, she found that having such control over him was empowering. Gone was the blood thirsty killer that she'd seen weeks before, and in his place stood a being consumed with pure, unadulterated need. Each time he tensed, trembled or groaned she grew more addicted, and her own lust rose to match his.

Hiei's eyes darkened with lust when he realized one of her hands had left his body in order to begin pleasuring herself and the strong scent of her arousal filled the air. It wouldn't be long before she was ripe for the taking. "Even with such innocence, you still know what your body needs. Get undressed, it's time we finished this and get what we both want."

The husky words had her standing slowly, although she made no move to comply with the demand right away. Instead she fingered the edge of the silk wrap she wore and gave him a considering look. She was playing with fire, and she knew that he wouldn't wait long before taking matters into his own hands. When the apparition reached towards her, she took a step back, putting her just out of reach. The slow smile that crossed her face was teasing and a thrill of anticipation coursed through her body.

"Do you feel that?" she asked, whispering in an almost haunting tone, "It's thrilling, isn't it? Knowing that what you want is just beyond your grasp and you only need to reach out to touch it." Giggling slightly, she turned and ran from him, knowing that he wouldn't stand there long. The desire and instinct to hunt coursed through his veins, and he wasn't about to be denied.

For a moment Hiei stared after her, a look of surprise crossing his face before it was replaced with a predatory look. Now he knew what her game was and he wasn't adverse to playing along since in the end he'd get what he wanted. With that thought in mind, he started out after her although he kept his speed to a minimum. It would be child's play to catch her at this point, but then the game would end all too quickly and he wanted to see just where she would lead him on this hunt.

The sound of the apparition's footsteps reached her ears easily enough and Kagome couldn't help but laugh again. For a moment she'd wondered if he would put an end to her bid for freedom, however, he seemed content to let her have control for the moment. Quickly she darted behind a thicket of trees, stripping the silky wrap from her body and letting it trail behind her before dropping it directly on the path.

The action didn't go unnoticed either, although by the time that she'd let it fall Hiei had taken to the trees. Through the foliage he could catch brief glimpses of her bare skin and he licked his lips. She was definitely a piece of work, not that he had expected anything different. That skimpy thing that she'd been wearing had done little to hide her curves, or how lithe her body was.

When the light broke through the trees ahead, Hiei knew exactly where she was heading. Only a few yards away was a small lake, surrounded by lush foliage which was a perfect place for one such as her to hide. Determined to catch her before she had a chance to reach her destination, he surged ahead and then waited, timing his next move. It was only once she was almost directly below him that he took action and dropped out of the tree he'd been hiding, pinning her to the ground. "I win."

"Then take your prize," Kagome said in a whisper and wrapped her legs around his waist. Her chest heaved with exertion and she knew that he was only moments away from possessing her body. The way that his shaft was rubbing against her was unlike anything she'd experienced before, and she wasn't about to tell him to stop now.

Never one to deny his own urges, Hiei settled on his knees and grasped his little lover by the hips. He no longer had it in him to be slow or gentle, and with one smooth thrust he buried his cock in her. However, the gasp of pain he'd been expecting from her never came, only a moan of pleasure. The smirk that came across his face was one of pure satisfaction. She was as tight as he had been hoping, but there wasn't the complications that normally came with having to reassure an inexperienced lover.

"Please," Kagome whimpered, shifting against him hungrily. In one brief moment he'd managed to take her breath away and leave her aching for more, yet for some reason he'd paused and that just wasn't acceptable. That one little word was enough to get him moving though, and for that she was grateful. The pace that he set had her frantically clutching at the soft moss she was laying on, her back arching while he drove into her repeatedly.

A fine sheen of sweat formed on his body and his hands tightened on her hips. The way her slick walls clung so tightly to his cock was exquisite, yet he still needed to drive harder, deeper into her. With a snarl he pulled out of her, no doubt leaving his lover to wonder just what the hell he'd stopped for. "On your knees, now."

The barked order left Kagome blinking in surprise for a moment before she moved to comply with his demand. She'd barely gotten into position before he was penetrating her again, and the change in sensations left her breathless. What he was doing to her was positively sinful and she'd long thought she was no longer capable of feeling. But there was no denying just how real this was and she met each thrust he gave her, taking the pleasure that he was offering with a hunger that could not be denied.

The only sounds given were the soft moans and the wet sounds of their flesh meeting together almost violently. There was no need for words, and there certainly weren't any flowery declarations of love spoken between them. This was pure, unadulterated lust, nothing more; where both of them took what they needed from the other. In the end, Kagome was left biting her lip to keep from crying out when his hand reached around and his fingers brushed across her hidden jewel.

The reaction was almost immediate and Hiei hissed when her tight body clamped down around his cock. He'd thought she was tight before but it was nothing compared to now. His pace quickened when she cried out and gave over to the release that had been offered; and he knew that he wouldn't last much longer either. The pleasure was far too great to be denied, and moments later he reached his own peak, spilling his seed into her waiting warmth.

Breathing heavily, he pulled away and sat back to try and catch his breath. That had to rank up there with one of the better fucks that he'd encountered, and he wondered if she had any intentions of sticking around. It wouldn't be long before he was ready for another round. A smirk crossed his face then with the realization that she probably wouldn't want to move for the next several minutes anyway. Even now that she'd laid back down on the moss, he could see that her thighs were still quivering with excitement. 'She's not going anywhere.'

Kagome nearly laughed at the look of satisfaction that crossed his face, as well as the thoughts that she could hear from him. As tempting as the offer was, she'd gotten what she needed from him. Now that the balance between the jewel was secure, there was no reason to linger, at least not this time, and there was no doubt in her mind that she'd eventually be back for more.

So it was a bit of a surprise to Hiei when she stood, and he found himself scowling up at her, "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

The indignant question had Kagome laughing then; he'd been so certain that she'd jump at the chance to stick around. Most likely he had his pick of women whenever he wanted one, and they lingered for as long as he was willing to tolerate them. So to find one that he'd enjoyed so much ready to leave almost immediately had to be a bit of a blow to his ego. "Don't you know?" she asked with a giggle, "Half the fun is in the chase, remember."

With that she took off running again, although this time when he moved to follow she vanished from his sight. It wouldn't be long before he gave up the chase, but it would mean that he would be even more eager for their next encounter when she appeared before him again. Smiling to herself, she withdrew completely from his mind and basked in the satisfaction of a job well done. Not only had she accomplished her goal, but she'd also given herself an experience that she'd never hoped to have. It was definitely an arrangement that she could enjoy and she no longer had misgivings about what she'd done out of necessity.

It was the loud sound of the intercom which woke Hiei up, jolting him out of bed. It was only a couple of seconds later when he realized that the entire thing had been a dream and it had him swearing. He didn't need to look down to realize that his pants were a complete mess and that he'd need to change before he could think of going anywhere. 'Fuck, you'd think I was still a teenager who had gotten excited over seeing a pair of tits for the first time.'

However he was well past the puberty stage and the fact that he'd had so little control over his own body during a dream was downright infuriating. Growling under his breath, he stripped his pants off and tossed them in the corner to be dealt with later. There was no way in hell he was going to wander the halls without cleaning up first. The thought of just going back to bed never crossed his mind, not with the mood that he was in. Instead he had the insatiable desire to work off some of that anger, preferably in the form of a battle that was going to leave each of his opponents dead.

Nor did he care just who those opponents happened to be at the moment. Anyone who was foolish enough to cross his path had a good chance of becoming the first on the list, but it had to be away from the fortress. The last thing he needed was for Mukuro to come calling, looking to find out just what had pissed him off in the first place. Of course, he doubted that the woman would even be wandering the halls this late in the afternoon. Most likely she was ensconced in her office, dealing with whatever bullshit it was that had woken him up in the first place.

Quickly he yanked on a fresh pair of trousers and began fixing the belts into place. The boots followed shortly after, and only then did he snatch up his sword. Once he was certain that he had everything he needed, he stepped from the room and began walking down the corridor. As expected, the hallway was far from deserted, however, those who happened to be in them gave him a wide berth after seeing the look upon his face.

That, in his opinion, was all to the good since most of these fools wouldn't be able to offer him anything more than a token attempt at a fight. The slight amount of effort to kill them wouldn't be anything remotely worth the amount of work it would take to cleanse the hallways of their blood; assuming that he couldn't pawn the task off on someone else.

He'd nearly made it to the exit when he heard the voice that he least wanted to hear at the moment and he stiffened, although he didn't bother to turn around. There was no way in hell that he wanted to explain just what had him so agitated, especially when he considered the amount of amusement that she was likely to get out of his... problem.

"By your lack of answer, I'm assuming this isn't going to be just a nightly stroll," Mukuro said when her second in command didn't even bother to acknowledge her presence. It wasn't all that unusual for the apparition to slip out to do his own thing from time to time. What was odd, however, was the amount of sexual tension that leaked from his aura, mixed with anger. 'Curious, it seems to be directed at himself more than anything else.'

"I'll return when I feel like it, unless you have something more pressing to be asking me instead of the state of my aura," he said, a hard edge to his voice. It was a clear warning for the woman not to press any farther, however, he knew just how likely that was to come across. Sure, she'd know what he was doing, but she'd just as easily ignore it if her curiosity was sufficiently aroused.

"I suppose that depends on you," she replied, her lips quirking upwards in amusement. Whatever it was that seemed to be bothering him didn't seem to be too pressing, even if it had annoyed the hell out of him. If it was anything serious, she would have known about it and as such, she wasn't about to press him for answers right away. As similar as they both were, she knew that he had a need for privacy, just as she did.

Now Hiei did turn to look at her, his scowl deepening, "Just what is that supposed to mean?"

"You seem to want to fight, I could have you settle the dispute that's waiting in the mess hall," she said, shrugging her shoulders slightly. She could almost anticipate his answer, but then again, she really didn't want to have to be bothered with it either.

Hearing the offer, Hiei gave a snort of derision. Most likely the entire incident centered around two fools who couldn't be bothered to tolerate each other's presence for the time it took for them to shovel down whatever crap the cook had prepared for the evening. Knowing that she was waiting for an answer, he spoke, "Unless you wish the fools responsible disposed of permanently, find someone else to do it. I'm not in the mood to deal with it today."

"Very well. I trust you'll inform me of when you are in the mood to speak on what's troubling you? I'm not blind, Hiei and I know that things have not been the same since your last trip to the Ningenkai. I've been patient so far, but I'll not wait forever for answers," she said quietly. Her decision to give him some space only went so far, and sooner or later he would have to answer her questions. Whether he liked it or not, she was still the one in command here, even before she was a friend.

And that message was clearly conveyed to Hiei, although he didn't say anything to the unspoken warning. Whether _she_ liked it or not, he'd been given the option of leaving whenever he felt like it. It was only because he was comfortable with their arrangement that he remained at his post. "You've already received my report on what happened during the incursion. Now unless you want to take me up on the offer to eradicate the fools on the lower levels..."

"I'd rather not have a riot tonight," she replied with a sigh. Granted, there was a good chance that the initial instigators would be killed, the potential for further trouble was just too much of a headache to deal with. Most likely she'd end up taking the two fools responsible and toss them down in the training arena to work it out, even if it meant killing one or the other in the process.

"Then I'll take my leave," he said and turned to leave again. Whatever method she used to deal with the problem just wasn't his concern. Nor did he particularly care to continue the conversation, so he left before she decided to question him further.

~Back in the Ningenkai~

Both Yusuke and Kuwabara walked along the sidewalk that would lead them to Kurama's house, both silently thinking about what they'd learned from their little excursion to Tokyo, which wasn't much. Frankly, the Toushin was almost willing to label the trip as a complete waste of time, but only one thing stopped him, and that was the fact that Kagome's disappearance had gotten attention. Sooner or later the girl would be found, one way or another. Of course, there were no promises as to what condition she would be in when it happened.

"So do you think Botan was right?" Kuwabara asked, finally breaking the silence. They were only a couple of minutes from the Kitsune's house, and they needed to know how they were going to approach him. Assuming that the redhead was even home at that point.

Turning his head slightly, Yusuke regarded the taller man curiously, "About which part?"

"Them not caring enough about the girl to want her found. I didn't get that impression, but you knew them when they were still alive. What do you think?" he asked and scratched his head. It didn't make much sense to him for them to be so adamant about giving information and he was positive that they knew something. If it had been Shizuru missing, even hell wouldn't have been able to stand in his way of finding her and he'd be taking any help that had been offered.

"That was a load of crap," Yusuke replied easily enough, "but there is something going on. The way they latched onto what happens to the humans that the Reikai arrests convinced me of that much. I'm not sure what it is, but they think Kagome's done something that could get her on the wrong side of the Reikai. They're trying to protect her from that."

"Huh... You met the girl, right?" Kuwabara asked, considering what Yusuke had just said and when the Toushin nodded, he continued, "Did she strike you as someone who would pull a Sensui? Cause it has to be something pretty damned bad if possibly being tortured by demons isn't enough to get them to break their silence."

"Another Sensui? No... I'd be surprised if Kagome had it in her to even think about killing someone. The girl's got a temper, but that's about it. If there's a reason that the Reikai would go after her, it's not because of something that she did, at least not on purpose," he said quietly. Unfortunately, whether something was done on purpose or not was of little matter to King Enma and if he wanted the girl dead, there was little that they'd be able to do to help her.

Kuwabara nodded silently, accepting Yusuke assessment of her personality. While he hadn't met the girl himself, he knew that the man at his side was a damned good judge of character. If he said that Kagome wasn't at fault for whatever it was she'd found herself involved in, that was good enough for him. But it still left the question as to how in the hell they were going to figure out what the problem was to begin with. Without her family's help, they were at a standstill unless Kurama had managed to uncover something.

Fortunately though, they'd just reached his house and those answers would be forthcoming in just a matter of moments. Taking a deep breath, Yusuke steeled himself for the conversation that was about to transpire. The fox could be possessive of his secrets and difficult to get answers from, but he wasn't about to leave empty handed. To his surprise though, the door opened before he could even manage the first knock, "Hey, Kurama. Can we talk?"

The serious look upon both men's faces had Kurama scrutinizing the both of them. It didn't take much deduction to figure out what they were there about and he held the door open, inviting them inside, "I trust that you've spoken to Keiko then?"

"How'd you guess?" Yusuke asked and stepped through the doorway. If Kurama already knew what they were there for, it could make their visit so much easier. But by the same token, it could just as easily put the redhead on his guard and make it difficult to get the answers that they needed.

Quietly Kurama closed the door after his two guests had entered the house and led them to the living room, "It was easy enough to figure out, Yusuke. The fact that Keiko's perfume covers you indicates that you've spent quite a bit of time in her company today and the same goes for Kuwabara. I'm assuming that the three of you were in close quarters for an extended period of time, like a train perhaps?"

"Nothing gets by you does it? So you know why we're here then," Yusuke said, skipping the formalities of dancing around the subject. It seemed that luck was on their side with Kurama being the one to bring it up. If he hadn't wanted to speak of the matter, he would have pretended not to have noticed and the initial question never would have been asked.

"I do. Perhaps you should tell me of what you learned. I'm sure that Kuwabara was able to pick up on something that perhaps Hiei had missed on his trip to the shrine," Kurama said and sat down on the couch. In this instance, perhaps it was for the best that these two had taken the chance on becoming involved. Short of going to the shrine himself, he had limited information to go on and he hadn't had the chance to make the trip to Tokyo.

"There's three spirits that have trapped themselves there and they all but told Botan to go get screwed," Kuwabara said uneasily. He wasn't sure what Hiei had to do with any of this, and he wasn't all together certain he wanted to know. While he doubted that Hiei was involved with the girl's disappearance, it just didn't make sense that he'd stop at a random shrine and just stumble onto a mystery either.

"I'm assuming you mean voluntarily then?" Kurama asked, his expression turning speculative. Had he gone to the shrine himself, he would have been able to see the spirits there, and perhaps even manipulate them to a certain extent. However, second hand knowledge was better than none at all. "I'm assuming it was the mother and two children then?"

"Actually, no. It was the two elder Higurashis and Souta," Yusuke said with a raised brow, "Kagome's whereabouts are still unknown, unless you've found something out that we haven't."

"Curious, I wasn't aware that the old man had passed away. I'd spent a bit trying to track him down, but after his second relocation he'd disappeared. Now I know why," Kurama replied with a sigh. He'd been worried that one of his only leads had died, but since he hadn't yet found an obituary, he'd remained hopeful.

Kuwabara gave the kitsune an odd look and leaned forward, "You thought the third person was Kagome, why are you so sure that she's dead?"

"Because a demon would not have attacked the shrine without reason. While it's true that most of the old magic is gone, traces of it still remain and to risk being purified would be foolish. There has to be a pressing reason and the first thing I would have done was eliminate any immediate threat," Kurama replied with a careless shrug of his shoulders. He certainly wouldn't have taken the chance without the reward being something he'd consider worth the trouble.

"And you think Kagome was it?" Yusuke asked, staring at his friend as if he'd lost his mind. Yes, he'd been able to feel a certain amount of power coming from the girl on the few times that he'd met her, however, he was positive that she'd never come into contact with demons. Nor would she have had anyone to train her in her abilities, rendering them virtually useless.

"It makes sense, does it not? Consider this, Yusuke, she's the only one who disappeared without a trace. Had she been nothing more than a normal human, the demon would have left her body there just like the others," he replied quietly. Of course there was the strong possibility that she'd been taken to become some sort of play toy, but his instincts told him that wasn't the case this time.

"But why attack the shrine in the first place?" Kuwabara asked, his voice colored with uncertainty. That, above all else was what made no sense to him. If Kurama was right, this girl was dangerous and it would have been stupid to attack her without wanting something. Most of the shrines and temples that he'd been to held nothing that would be of interest to a demon, so what was so different about this one?

"A very good question," Kurama said and reached for a small stack of papers that he'd laid on the table long before he'd realized he was going to have company. If there was one thing that he'd learned, it was that each individual shrine was ripe with legend and lore. One only needed to know where to look in order to find it. "And I believe that I might have found the answer. There are several prominent legends surrounding that shrine which could have been the cause of her disappearance."

The idea that the entire family could have been slaughtered over a legend didn't sit well with either Yusuke or Kuwabara, however, they couldn't change what had already been done. If nothing else, they could listen and hope that it was a step in the right direction that would lead them to Kagome.

"We're listening," Yusuke said at last when it looked like Kurama wasn't going to volunteer any further information. They hadn't come this far just to watch him fall silent on the matter.

"The first of the legends actually ties in with the rest, but I'll get to that in a moment. Five hundred years ago, there was a miko by the name of Kikyo who, for lack of a better term, tended to the needs of the village which surrounded the shrine that Kagome once lived at," Kurama replied, studying his notes carefully, "As I'm sure that you're aware, the barrier was in place around that time, however, there was still a decent population of demons scattered throughout the human world."

"Right, but what does that have to do with things now?" Kuwabara asked, wondering where this was going. How would a five hundred year old legend affect a teenage girl's life in this era?

"Patience, Kuwabara, I'm getting to that," he said, fixing the man with a look, "I'm sure that I don't have to tell you that any relationship between humans and demons are frowned upon at best. But the game changes when the human involved is one with holy powers. It is considered to be one of the most forbidden of unions."

"Sort of like..." Yusuke began and then trailed off, remembering that Kuwabara had no knowledge of Hiei and Yukina's relationship.

"Hardly, Yusuke. The extenuating circumstances of one does not fall on equal footing with the other. To continue, Kikyo did the unthinkable and fell in love with a hanyou," Kurama stated, skirting past the issue of Hiei's parentage almost entirely, "Such a thing was virtually unheard of and raised more than a few eyebrows. However her standing in the community was enough that most of the villagers would not take her to task over her choice of lovers."

"To each their own, I guess," Yusuke said with a shrug. Personally he didn't give a shit who this long dead miko fucked or didn't fuck, just so long as the kitsune got to the point. "So is this like some retaliation on the part of the fucker that set fire to the shrine? They didn't like the fact that one of their kind was banging the enemy at some point?"

"As interesting as that thought is, no. The past is long dead and buried, leaving most humans and demons unaware of what even happened between them. It took me some time to look it up, and I've made a point over the years to learn the various legends that might be of interest. This one had escaped even my knowledge," Kurama replied and leaned back against the couch, "At any rate, the relationship between the miko and the hanyou went sour, and he ended up killing her as best as I can come up with. The exact cause of her death and what happened to the hanyou has been lost to time."

"So are you saying there's a chance that he's still alive and that he was the one who did this?" Kuwabara asked, his brows knitting together as he tried to piece together what Kurama was implying, "If he did kill Kikyo, why come for Kagome?"

"Perhaps Kagome was Kikyo's reincarnation. Depending on what happened between them, the anger could still linger after five hundred years. Or perhaps she resembled the other woman enough that it triggered a deep seated memory," Kurama said and put the papers back down on the table. He of all people knew just how long a grudge could fester in a person, and it would take little to bring it to the surface in someone with little to no impulse control.

The explanation was all well and good on the surface, but Yusuke still wasn't buying it, "I dunno, that seems kinda far fetched to me. Yeah, he might have offed her because she looked like a girl he used to screw, but like you said, taking on someone with holy powers isn't a walk in the park. Would that really be reason enough to take the chance?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. There is a problem that most hanyou have to deal with, and Inuyasha would have been no exception. Periodically his demonic blood would have come to the surface and taken away any control that he might have had," Kurama said, fixing Yusuke with a considering look. In a way, he'd often wondered whether or not Yusuke would suffer with the same affliction, but to date, he hadn't shown any signs of it.

"Wait, you said Inuyasha?" Yusuke asked, sitting up in surprise, "Now what the hell are the chances that both Kikyo and Kagome would know of a hanyou like that with the same name?"

"What are you talking about, Yusuke?" Kurama asked, narrowing his eyes at the Toushin. So far he'd come across nothing in his research that would suggest such a thing.

"It was something that Botan said before we even went to the shrine. Apparently when she'd gone to ferry the family to the Reikai, Souta had mentioned Inuyasha specifically by name and said that he'd keep her safe," Yusuke said, his mind trying to wrap around this new development.

"So then it's entirely possible that he would have been able to get close enough to the family to take her, after he slaughtered them," Kurama said thoughtfully. It would explain much and it wasn't out of the realms of being possible for a hanyou to exist in the Ningenkai without detection. It would all depend on just how human he looked, but it could be done.

"Except for one thing," Yusuke said, giving the kitsune an uncertain look, "Botan thought it might be a lead as well so she looked into it. Inuyasha died a couple of centuries ago and his spirit was processed by the Reikai. So short of time travel, how in the hell would they know each other?"

"I don't know, Yusuke. I just don't know."


	4. Chapter 4

Title: The Puppet Master

Author: Bondage Fetish

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: Lemons, language, violence and character death.

Theme: Dangerous Liaisons

Disclaimer: If I owned either Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho, I'd actually be rewriting both series instead of having to content myself with fan fiction of it. And no, I make no money off of this story.

Written for The Deadliest Sin's contest.

**Chapter Four**

Hiei sighed in irritation while he looked at the stack of paperwork laying on the desk that he'd been sitting at for the past week. In the end, he should have realized that Mukuro was only going to be put off for so long before she tired of not getting her answers. However, he wasn't about to give in and tell the woman anything just yet, not until he had his own answers.

Perhaps that was what infuriated him the most at the moment. He was still largely in the dark and thus far, Kurama hadn't sent word that he'd learned anything at all. Until that happened, he refused to speak to anyone concerning what had happened back in the Ningenkai and that meant he was going to continue being stuck at this gods be damned desk.

While Mukuro had the ability to rip what little he knew from his mind, he knew that she wouldn't; not when she wanted him to come to her of his own volition. To do so would be admitting that she didn't have as much of his trust, nor as much control over him as she'd have liked. Thus, it had turned into a game where they both waited to see who would be the first to give.

'I'm a warrior, not a secretary, dammit. Any fool could be doing this, leaving me free to be back out on patrol.' Unfortunately, all the cursing in the world was not going to make that stack of papers disappear, and now he felt just the slightest bit of sympathy for Koenma. While he'd only been at it for a week now, the demigod had been at it for centuries. 'It's a wonder he isn't half out of his mind yet.'

It was oh so tempting just to set the entire stack ablaze and be done with it, but that wouldn't resolve the over all issue. In the end, he'd still have to do the paperwork and knowing his luck, he'd be forced to type them up all again. Not to mention, he'd be forced to deal with Mukuro looming over his shoulder and informing him that all he needed to do in order to get out of it was spill his guts. Occasionally it was tempting to do just that, but now he was being stubborn strictly out of principle. He refused to be the one who lost this contest of wills.

But that still didn't resolve the issue that he wanted free of this little task. He wanted to be out in the sunlight, free of the constricting walls of the fortress. Even if his freedom was short lived, it was still better than nothing. It was hard to believe at one point that he'd wondered what it would be like to have a place that he belonged, that he wouldn't have to spend the day roaming the country side looking for a place to stay. Yet that was what he was almost wishing for at the moment and he was beginning to wonder why he stayed.

As always though, the answer came to him quickly. He stayed because of the security that the position offered. Here he didn't have to worry about the possibility of someone attempting to slit his throat in the dark of night. Nor did he have to wonder where his next meal would come from. It was a trade off of sorts, part of his freedom in return for what could be considered a life of luxury to most demons. Still, it didn't mean he had to appreciate the fact that he was tied to this desk.

With a growl he pushed himself out of the chair, and stalked over to the window. The small breeze the caressed his skin did little to calm the burning desire in him and he found himself wondering just how long it would take for anyone to notice he was missing. And even when they did, what possible punishment could Mukuro give him? Demotion? The idea had him snorting in derision. There was no way in hell that she'd do that, simply because there no one in her ranks that could best him.

Dragging him down to the training arena was a distinct possibility, but the woman was well aware that he gave as good as he got. The idea of pain meant absolutely nothing to him and it certainly wasn't something that would deter him. In the end, the choice of whether to stay or whether to go was completely up to him, and he wasn't going to allow what might happen upon his return to influence his choice. With that thought in mind, he shoved the window further open and disappeared, leaving the papers to scatter along the floor with the breeze that signaled his passing.

Once outside he began to run, knowing that even if anyone were to see him they wouldn't be able to stop him. He took a deep breath, relishing the fresh air that surrounded him. He hit the tree line and lept onto a sturdy branch, letting his momentum carry him further and further away from the fortress. At the moment he didn't care where he was heading, he just enjoyed the fact that he was outside again and away from the burdens that had been dropped into his lap.

It left him free to just clear his mind and stop thinking about the things that had been troubling him as of late, and just _exist _for once. There were no spirits, no rogue demons, no haunting dreams or anything else to demand his attention and drive him to distraction. A smile touched his face and he pushed himself faster towards the mountains, knowing that sooner or later he'd find something to attract him and release some of the frustration he'd been keeping pent up over the past few weeks.

Yet deep in the back of his mind, Kagome was influencing his movements. Slowly but steadily she was pulling him towards her final resting place. Perhaps it was just the need for company of a sort, or maybe it was because she wanted him to become intrigued enough to learn more about her, but either way, the result was still the same.

Nor was it hard to keep him from realizing just where he was heading, especially since he was so enamored with the fact that he was doing what it was that _he_ wanted to do, instead of blindly following orders. Sooner or later though, she knew that he'd figure it out and then it would be interesting to see just what choice he made.

There was every possibility that he would stop and turn around, determined not to let the problem get the better of him. Then again, she knew that the apparition was curious by nature and just the fact that he'd returned to the spot where they'd first come in contact with each other might be enough to keep him there.

All she could do was wait and see just what his choice was when the time came. In the meantime, she allowed herself to relish in the excitement that coursed through his mind. It had been so long since she'd been able to connect with someone on any true level, discounting the few times that she had manipulated his mind. Now, the emotion was strictly his own and she couldn't say that she wasn't enjoying it.

However, it wasn't all that long before the apparition realized where he was going and slowed, much to her consternation. To her surprise though, he didn't completely stop and passed through the barrier with ease. His thoughts were confused and no small part irritated however, and she began to wonder if bringing him so close was a mistake. Yet was it so wrong to want some sort of companionship? If he could come to accept what she was and what she'd been through, what would be the harm in letting him know that she was there, with him in spirit if not in body?

There was... a feeling of anticipation building deep within him and it made Hiei wonder just where it was coming from. It had been tempting to turn around when he'd passed through the barrier, but something drove him on and he found himself needing to understand just what was happening. It was almost as if he was expected to return to the place where he'd killed the demon, yet at the same time something was different.

The scowl on his face deepened when the thought crossed his mind that this might be the result of another stray incursion. Just because he hadn't detected any foreign presence didn't mean that there wasn't one there and he'd already established that this was a prime area for such a thing. That was the only reason that he didn't turn around and return to the Makai.

'Yet another reason I shouldn't be on desk duty. Maybe I should leave this demon to its own devices for a few hours. Once she sees how those fools slipped up on border patrol, she'd have no reason to keep me on desk detail.' However, even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew that it'd be likely to land him in even more hot water if he did that. Not only would Mukuro be furious that he hadn't acted when he was there, but Koenma would be on his ass again and he'd probably find himself confined to the Ningenkai for an indefinite period of time.

That in itself was a fate worse than death and it was what ultimately forced him to uncover the jagan. Yet as soon as the implant had a chance to focus, he realized that he was alone, with the exception of that strange holy energy that he'd encountered before. However, it didn't seem to be a threat at the moment, merely... urging him on. 'This becomes tiring. What is it that you want with me?'

Of course there wasn't an answer, at least not right away. The feeling merely intensified with each step that he took and he wondered if he was finally going to get some answers. With the way his luck was running, however, he doubted it; not when things tended to become difficult whenever he wanted something.

Eventually Hiei found himself on a grassy knoll and a breeze caressing his face, when the feeling of being led suddenly vanished. The area didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary, at least not that he could see but sometimes looks could be deceiving. Briefly he closed his eyes and extended his senses, hoping to catch upon the smallest details which he might have overlooked.

It was then that he heard the voice of what had to be a young woman, not that far away and he quickly looked in that direction. Somehow it wouldn't surprise him if he'd somehow managed to run across a group of campers or something. Yet to both his relief and irritation, he was still alone. But with that awareness came the knowledge that the voices had disappeared. 'Strange. Its as if they want me to use the Jagan to find them.'

Well if that was the case, he wasn't about to deny the request. His eyes slid closed again and he concentrated on his surroundings. As expected, the disembodied voices reached his ears a second time, and this time he listened.

"I guess... I just don't understand. How did you know that you could stop his transformation this time? You could have been killed, Kagome."

It wasn't the concern that had laced the woman's voice that Hiei frowning, but the name that had been mentioned. The fact that it was that of the missing girl's couldn't be considered a coincidence, not by a long shot. More to the point though, he found himself wondering what had been meant by stopping a transformation. Had the girl been involved with demons at some point?

"I didn't, Sango. But what other choice did I have? If we had stood there and done nothing... what would have happened? Inuyasha couldn't have stopped himself from changing and with the Tetsusaiga's power increase, it could no longer contain his demon blood. I guess... I had to take the chance. If I couldn't pull him back, we were all going to die anyway."

As quickly as the answer had come to him, it had only brought more questions. Clearly this Inuyasha hadn't been a full blooded demon, so that explained what she'd meant by transformation. But there had to be more to it. To his knowledge, once the process had begun, there was no stopping it.

"I don't know if I would have been able to do the same. No matter what happens you're always there, placing your life in his hands and he hasn't let you down yet. I have to wonder, do you ever stop to think about yourself? Or wonder what will happen if you're wrong. One of these days you might not be enough to pull him back. Will you leave him then to mourn your death and blame himself for what happened?"

Those questions at least, Hiei could understand. Long ago he'd learned that the only one he could trust was himself and he didn't see that changing; at least not completely. Had that been the cause of the girl's death? At this point, it seemed likely.

"Sometimes. But would it be any better to pull away from him? He's been maligned his entire life and still is to a certain extent. How could I not stay by his side when he needs me the most? I promised him that I'd always be there, and if it means my death in the end..."

The girl's voice trailed off and Hiei found himself wanting to roll his eyes. The girl's wish to stand beside the hanyou no matter what was foolish, admirable, but foolish. It was difficult to believe that there would be a human so selfless, so giving, that they'd actually consider self sacrifice for the sake of a friend. There had only been one instance where he'd ever come across a being like that, demon or human and that had been the Detective, and he couldn't pretend to act like he knew what went on in that fool's head. Of course, half the time Yusuke didn't think at all, whereas it sounded like this girl had dwelt on the repercussions of her decision quite often.

"I can't pretend that I understand how you think, Kagome, not after everything that he's put you through."

That question gave Hiei pause, was the girl a masochist as well? He snorted softly, she had to be if she kept calling him to this place. He certainly wasn't anyone's friend and he wasn't going out of his way to help her. But then he had to wonder, why was he still there?

"You mean after everything we put each other through. I'm not going to lie, Sango, a lot of what happened between us has been my fault, because I couldn't understand his point of view."

In that instance, Hiei wondered if the world was about to end or if he was imagining things. He'd always believed that it would be a cold day in hell before any woman admitted they were wrong about anything, and here was one shouldering at least half the blame for... what, a failing relationship?

"Don't tell me you're going to blame yourself for his indecisiveness. If you'd put your foot down regarding Kikyo..."

Silently Hiei filed away the new name, intending on looking into it later. It sounded more and more like the hanyou had strung the girl along and he wondered if Kagome was mentally deficient. Not only was she proclaiming herself as part of the problem, but she'd also let the person she swore to stand by bring another female into the relationship.

"You know, I once wished that Kikyo would have stayed dead, just so I would have had Inuyasha to myself but then I realized how awful it was to think that way. Neither of us had a choice in what happened, and for a long time I blamed Inuyasha for being unable to choose. But how could I stay angry at him? She died for Inuyasha and then to come back from the dead, believing that he'd betrayed her? He still loved her even after what had happened between them and those feelings weren't going to die just because I'd entered his life."

Slowly the pieces were falling in place, but not fast enough for Hiei's tastes at all. Briefly he wondered whether or not Koenma had a hand in this. There was only a couple of ways to come back from the dead, discounting the methods that Kurama and Yusuke had used. But beyond that, it gave him greater insight into Kagome's thoughts, even if he didn't particularly agree with them. When fighting for something you wanted, you gave it your all or you walked away. It was pointless to half ass something like that, and spoke of someone who would put other people's feelings above their own.

"So, you were prepared to lead half a life then, missing pieces of both your soul and your heart; just so she could continue to walk the Earth, not alive yet not quite dead either? I... couldn't do it. No matter how much I love Miroku, if the same had happened to me, I would have walked away."

And just when Hiei had been certain that Koenma had been a part of this whole convoluted mess, the conclusion was destroyed with a few simple words. The fact that Kagome would be missing part of her heart was easily explained, especially with how humans tended to let their emotions rule their lives. However, that didn't account for missing part of her soul, especially if it allowed the other woman to live again. 'What the hell am I missing here, is it even possible to take a piece of a person's soul and live again?'

The idea didn't sit well with him in the least; how many enemies could come back from the dead to haunt him? He could only hope that the answers would be forthcoming as the girl's continued to talk. However, his luck seemed to have run out when the voices drifted away and then vanished completely, leaving him alone. All that remained was the feeling of melancholy that surrounded him. The only thing he could surmise was that the girl wanted her story told, and was hoping that he was the one that would listen. Regardless, the conversation had left him with some information to look into; the names they'd spoken had been committed to memory and he wasn't about to forget them.

Now the question became; was there a point to him remaining in this area? Something told him that the spirit, for that's what he was certain it was, wouldn't be forthcoming with any further information. Nothing was ever easy and it seemed that the girl was limited in the methods of communication that she could use. If he was ever going to get to the bottom of this, it was going to be because he put forth some effort to do so.

Silently he considered what options remained to him. Common sense told him that the wisest course of action would be to seek Kurama out. Doing so would give him the opportunity to question the kitsune on what he'd learned. However, to do so meant a significant detour into the Ningenkai and if his disappearance hadn't been noticed yet, that would virtually guarantee it. Again he pondered the consequences of his actions, thinking of the possible repercussions of seeking Kurama out. 'Does it really matter? Mukuro will take her pound of flesh in payment regardless, another couple of hours won't make a damned bit of difference. '

With that thought in mind, he allowed the jagan to flare its energy and begin seeking the Kitsune's energy signature out. At this time of the day, there was no telling just where the redhead was and he had no desire to traverse the Ningenkai hunting the areas he believed Kurama was most likely to be.

The distance between the locations meant that it took a few minutes longer than it normally would, but eventually he zeroed in on his teammate. However, the small feeling of satisfaction he got faded when he realized just where Kurama was and he swore, trying to remember what day it was in the Ningenkai. Time ran differently between the worlds and his mood darkened when he realized that it was the weekend. 'Dammit, that insufferable habit he has of spending his free time with that human woman is becoming a pain in my ass.'

The revelation forced him to reconsider his decision to go talk to Kurama. While it would be easy enough to slip into the Hatanaka house, it wouldn't necessarily be as easy for Kurama to slip away. The conversation was likely to take quite a bit of time, and the redhead's disappearance would be noticed. Nor would Kurama excuse himself just for this because of the invariable questions that would come upon his return.

The situation had Hiei gritting his teeth in irritation. There were only two options left, speaking to the man telepathically or meeting him when he wasn't preoccupied with entertaining his mother. Neither possibility sat well with him given the level of impatience he had already been dealing with. But there was no other option, not if he wanted his answers. Taking a deep breath, he mentally prodded the redhead. 'Kurama.'

'Hiei, is there a problem?'

A brief flash of surprise filtered across Hiei's senses before being followed up by slight wariness and he was left wondering what had prompted such a reaction. 'No. I'm assuming since you have time to spend with your mother, you've had a chance to look into the matter that we discussed.'

'A bit. I'm afraid now isn't a good time to speak on it, however.'

The answer had Hiei's eyes narrowing in suspicion. He knew well enough that the kitsune was quite capable of both speaking to him and handling whatever foolish activity that he was now engaged in. 'And when will be a good time? Don't tell me you haven't even bothered to look into it.'

'Trust me, Hiei, I've spent quite a bit of time on this matter, but I'm not finished with my research. It's unwise to speculate on the situation without having all the facts. Give me a bit more time.'

Silently he considered the request, although he knew that he really didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Kurama would talk only when he was ready to do so, and there wasn't much he could do about it. Sure, he could rip the information from the man's memory, but to do so would create... complications that he'd prefer not to deal with. 'How long?'

'A week perhaps, certainly no longer. I just need to confirm some information and for that I need to go to the Reikai. Searching through their libraries will take some time.'

That little piece of information gave Hiei pause, and he wondered just what it was that Kurama needed to check out in the Reikai. Most likely it had to do with the people who had been killed in the fire, but beyond that, he couldn't begin to speculate. In this instance he knew that he would be forced to let the kitsune do what he did best, gather information in whatever means he deemed necessary. 'Fine, when you're finished come and find me. I'll be at the fortress until further notice.'

'The fortress? Has something happened to remove you from border patrol?'

The question had Hiei rolling his eyes; there was no way in hell he was going to tell the man that he'd been saddled with desk duty. So instead he became evasive and asked a question of his own. 'I've been reassigned for the time being. What do you know about resurrection?'

'As in humans rising from the dead? A bit, why. Have you come across something I should look into?'

A slow smile crossed Hiei's face when the redhead redirected his attention. Of course, he had no intentions of giving away everything that he knew, especially when he only wanted information on the people who had lived at the shrine. But Kurama was one of the best sources of information that he knew and if anyone would know of how the dead could walk the Earth again, it would be him. 'Have you ever heard of an instance where a soul is stolen and used to reanimate a body?'

The silence that stretched out between them made Hiei wonder if he'd actually managed to surprise Kurama with a question he couldn't answer.

'It shouldn't be possible, at least, not without the use of black magic. To do so, however, the soul would have to be the same which inhabited the original body. Reincarnation takes time, so the likelihood that the corpse would be in any shape to use is unlikely. Why?'

For a moment, Hiei didn't answer. What Kurama had said made sense; the Reikai moved at it's own pace and reincarnation took years, sometimes decades. It was highly unlikely that in this instance Koenma would have moved fast enough to reincarnate Kikyo's soul. So either Kurama was wrong in his assessment of this being a case of reincarnation, or there were other factors that they didn't yet know about. Either way, he wasn't about to give up the game that easily. The two women had spoke of the woman as if she hadn't changed in the slightest, which meant somehow her body had been preserved, or recreated. 'Is there a way to preserve the corpse for something like that?'

'Possible? Perhaps, however the sheer amount of planning that would be required is unlikely. Especially when you factor in the person doing so would not know when the spirit would return to Earth. They could be waiting centuries, and then there's no guarantee they would find the soul.'

That much Hiei knew to be true. How many years had Kurama slipped under the radar before he was discovered? In fact, the only reason that his secret had been revealed was because of the jagan, and a human was not likely to have one at their disposal to look for a particular soul. Again it seemed like he was at a standstill. Unless there was a method of time traveling that they were unaware of, things just didn't add up. There was no way in hell that it made sense for Kagome and this other woman to have been together, not if Kikyo was truly dead. There were still major parts of the puzzle missing and until they were revealed... 'I see. Keep me informed on what you discover. I'm returning to the Makai.'

Before Kurama could question what he was even doing in the Ningenkai, Hiei broke the connection and turned to leave. Slowly he walked from the area, stopping only to take one last look at the area he'd been led to. What he saw caused his eyes to widen in surprise. Standing there on the hill was the faint image of a dark haired woman with sad blue eyes, staring after him with a look of... wistfulness?

"Kagome?" he murmured, unsure if he was actually seeing the girl or if it was only a trick of the light and his wishful thinking. Cautiously he walked closer, determined to discover whether or not he was imagining things. Long before he reached her though, she vanished, leaving no trace that she'd ever been there in the first place. "Son of a bitch."

There was no denying that there was something familiar about the girl, even if he couldn't quite put his finger on just what it was. Had he seen her before when he had been confined to the Ningenkai? It was entirely possible, he supposed, although he wondered just why she would have stood out to him so well that he remembered her after all this time. Blue eyes weren't all that common, not in the Ningenkai, but they weren't unheard of either. One way or another, it would come to him and probably at the most unexpected of times. Perhaps, if she believed that she had some sort of connection with him, that would explain why she'd come to him in the first place.

The possibilities continued to plague him on his return trip through the Makai. He was no longer concerned with what might be waiting on him, not when there were so many other things on his mind. More than anything else he wanted to know where he'd seen her before since it wasn't like him to forget a face so easily. But beyond that, theft of her soul troubled him, although it wasn't out of any particular concern for her.

Was she still missing the piece that Kikyo had taken? The possibility only left him with more questions and it was beginning to give him a headache. He'd long ago resigned himself to the fact that she was the one in control of the power that seemed to inhabit the area. It was possible that it came from an artifact, but somehow he doubted it. The Reikai would never leave something like that unclaimed, so he could only surmise that it was in fact the girl. But if she was still missing part of her soul, shouldn't that negate part of the power she controlled?

Silently he pondered over what that could mean, assuming that it was even possible for something like that to happen. More than once he'd gotten the feeling that the power could destroy him if it wanted, just like it had done with the others and to accomplish something of that nature was no small feat. If this girl wasn't in complete possession of her soul, and thus not at full power, what kind of destruction would she be capable of if she was reunited with that missing piece?

As much as he hated to admit it, he was forced to the conclusion that she could easily be a match for any of the demons that he knew; Mukuro, Yomi, Yusuke, or even Enki might not be a match for her. The fact that the spirit worked with holy energy, the antithesis to their own demonic energy was a lethal threat to any one of them. Even with the speed and strength at their disposal, none of them would be able to touch the girl in her current form and to do so would be almost certain death.

Of course, if the girl still had a physical form, things were unlikely to remain so one sided. In his brief encounters with people that controlled holy power, he knew that they tended to focus heavily on long range weapons and their attacks couldn't hope to match the speed of a demon unless they'd gone through extensive training as Sensui had done. The best case scenario that could be hoped for was that the girl was in full possession of her soul now, and at full strength in her powers because he didn't want to contemplate what it would mean otherwise.

As soon as her status was revealed to the rulers of the Makai, they'd likely demand that something be done about it since she was so close to the border. Of course, the Reikai couldn't be counted on to move quickly enough for any of their tastes, assuming Koenma could remove her spirit in the first place. Hauntings and possessions were never easy to deal with in the first place, and the brat was likely to put it off until he had no other choice. 'And then the fool will probably reassemble the team to deal with her, even though this falls under his jurisdiction.' Regardless, he didn't feel like dying just because Koenma didn't want to take the time out to resolve the problem himself.

Still, it was bound to come out sooner or later and Hiei was cursing the fact that he'd been drawn into the mess in the first place. He wouldn't be able to put Mukuro off forever, not when her curiosity was aroused and when Kurama made an appearance, it was only going to get worse. He could only hope that if he managed to downplay the situation enough, she'd lose interest. Once he had his own answers, he could decide whether or not it was necessary to inform her or anyone else of the situation. 'It's more likely that a rainbow is going to come shooting out of my ass with Yusuke standing there proclaiming he's found a pot of gold. I'd have more luck finding out what's keeping her there and breaking it's hold. If she's no longer there, it's no longer my concern.'

Actually succeeding in that plan of attack, however, was going to be far harder than just thinking about it. Finding just what was tying the girl there was proving to be hard enough, much less eliminating it altogether. Sighing heavily, he walked through the entrance of the fortress. It was pointless to try and return through the window, since if his disappearance had been noticed, they'd know that he hadn't been in the office the entire time. No, he'd take his chances with being seen coming through the front door and if anyone had anything to say about it, they could go fuck themselves. He wasn't in the mood to explain himself, least of all to people who meant absolutely nothing to him.

"Your aura is unsettled. I take it that your run did nothing to calm your irritation," Mukuro remarked from the shadows. She'd know the moment that he'd made a break for it, but had made no move to stop him because she'd hoped that it would resolve whatever was bothering him. While in some ways he seemed calmer, it was only on the surface. Something was troubling him, and it ran far deeper now than before he had left.

"As if coming back here to more paperwork would make anyone happy. Maybe if you'd put me back out on the border where I belong..." he trailed off, gazing at the woman expectantly. If she'd give in, it would be far easier for him to do as he wished, without worrying about who was looking over his shoulder.

Curiously Mukuro stared at him. Whatever secret he had hidden, he clearly didn't want it revealed. That in itself wasn't surprising, but the fact that he didn't even want her to know what it was seemed to be a bit... unusual, especially after how easily he'd given up all the other secrets he'd kept hidden, including the one concerning his sister. "If you wish to be back on the front lines so badly, all you need to do is speak. Tell me what is troubling you, and it can be resolved."

However, Hiei wasn't about to be swayed so easily, not when there was the potential for disaster. Yet, perhaps she would be of some information. Mukuro had learned much in her quest for power and she wasn't one to withhold information from him. "It is of no importance, Mukuro. However, I'm curious, have you ever run across a credible tale of time travel?"

"No," Mukuro said after a moment's hesitation. She had no idea what brought this question on, but it was one worth answering if it led him to give her further information, "However, I'm not one to discount the possibility completely. Realms between the dimensions are commonplace and even I have the ability to rip through space, as you've seen. Creating a portal to rip through time is merely a step up from that. Why?"

Yet Hiei wasn't about to give her a definite answer to that question, so instead, he evaded as he'd done with Kurama, "Hn, curiosity. Altering the past would be simple if such a method were to exist."

"There are things you would change, even knowing that the life that you have now would no longer be the same?" Mukuro asked and leaned against the wall. Neither of their pasts were ideal, but the end result, in her opinion had been worth it. She was one of the most powerful demons in the Makai now, to change that would be denying what she'd become. Would the apparition before her make the same choice, if given the chance?

For a moment Hiei was unable to answer and he was forced to seriously consider the question. Much had happened in his life, things that he'd long believed that he would have given anything to change. But if he had, would he still have the lust for power that had driven him his entire life? Somehow, he believed that he would. His need for bloodshed hadn't manifested just because he'd been tossed off the island. No, he'd felt those first stirrings even before Rui had carried him to the edge of the island and if he'd been capable, he would have indulged in that desire even before she'd dropped him. Silently he turned and began walking away, but stopped long enough to give her his answer, "Yes, I would."

~A few days later~

Had anyone ever asked Kagome about her wants and desires, the list would have been easy for her to admit to. Peace, the safety of her family, the ability to see her friends any time she would like; all of these things would have been mentioned. Not once would the touch of a man had made it on that list, but now... something had been awakened inside of her, and she found that extinguishing that desire was impossible.

Many times she'd thought to take advantage of the bond that she'd created with the apparition, but she always held back. Guilt was a feeling that she lived with daily, and she was reluctant to add to it. The balance within the jewel had been stable since the first time she'd taken energy from him, so what possible reason could she use to justify going to him again. Loneliness?

A sigh rippled throughout her being, such as it was. Loneliness was something that she'd believed she'd come to accept, but things had changed. Hiei's presence, even if he wasn't aware of it, was a near constant in her life. Some days he was more distant than others, but it was an irrefutable fact. He was now a part of her, and she found herself craving more.

The few hours that she'd had with him had been addicting, and it was the closest thing to physical contact that she could ever hope to attain. Every touch, every caress seemed as real as if she were there and she couldn't get enough of him, but she couldn't call it love. Truthfully, she had no idea what label would apply. Lust seemed far too simple a term, especially when her emotions began to entwine with that desire.

Simply put, she craved his company and the brief moment that she'd managed to show herself on that hill, she began to wonder if there could be something more between them. True, she was dead in every sense of the word, but she still felt, and her current existence was no longer enough. 'Oh, Midoriko, what do I do?'

Of course there was no answer, not that she really expected one. The ancient Miko's soul was still present, but Kagome had been forced to render it dormant, or as close to that state as it could get. To do less was to risk everything and she just couldn't take that chance. But it did nothing to alleviate her need for someone to talk to.

But there was an added factor to contend with, something she wouldn't have really considered when she'd first started this dance with him. And that was the fact that thoughts of her was constantly lingering in his mind. Before it had been thoughts of battle, bloodshed, or events of his past, but that had changed and she couldn't say that it made her unhappy. In a way, it was nice to have someone so interested in her after all this time, even if it was just a desire to know what had happened to her.

In some small way, it felt as if he was reaching out to her, and the way that he'd spoken her name when she'd appeared before him had shaken her. Not with fear, but something stronger and it had left her uncertain of what to do. She wanted him to want to know her better, to find out if there could be something more than just this one sided relationship that they had going.

In the end, Kagome was so focused on the problem at hand that she didn't realize at first when she began to sink deeper and deeper into his mind, and by the time she became aware, it was too late. He'd fallen asleep while she'd been thinking and somehow, the jewel had acted on her desire, plunging her into his dream.

Curiously she looked around, taking in the dimly lit room that she'd found herself in. It certainly wasn't something that she'd expect him to come up with on his own and she found herself wondering if perhaps this was somehow influenced by her own thoughts. As she looked around, that seemed to be a very real possibility. She didn't need to look down to know that she was once again wearing miko robes, something that she'd never thought she'd have to wear again.

"So strange," she murmured to herself. So far there wasn't a trace of the apparition anywhere, but she couldn't deny that this was indeed a dream she'd been pulled into. Briefly she wondered whether or not she should just leave since it was well within her capability, yet at the same time she couldn't deny that she still wanted to see him again. Could she take the chance and reveal her presence to him?

The slightest of smiles touched her lips then, when she remembered just what had happened during their last real meeting. While she couldn't just walk up to him and announce that she was the girl he was investigating, there was nothing stopping her from getting closer to him, no reason not to satisfy that craving he had inspired in her.

Slowly she walked through the darkness, towards the light that filtered in through the next room. Her fingertips slid easily against the smooth stone wall and she paused in the doorway. If she didn't know better, she'd say that she'd found herself in a temple. The candle light created shadows that danced on the walls, highlighting the intricate carvings that adorned the stone and she found herself drawn further into the room.

Any doubts that she might have had as to what this place was vanished when her gaze settled on the stone alter in the center of the room. What was curious though was the deep red cloth that covered it as if there was a special ceremony prepared. Venturing closer, it didn't take her long to notice the fierce black dragon that adorned the cloth and somehow she knew that this was a representation of the feared beast that rode upon the apparition's arm.

"So where is your master?" she queried beneath her breath and ran her fingers lightly across the design. Now she began to wonder if this setting was her doing at all. Never in her life had she been to a place such as this, but perhaps he had. As if in acknowledgment of her question, a black mist began to rise from the cloth and she stared when the beast began to materialize before her. Yet she had no fear in the face of this new danger and bravely she stood her ground.

Her body went rigid when the beast approached and its muzzle grazed the side of her neck. Its hot breath warmed her skin, yet she said nothing while it performed its inspection.

'So powerful.'

The growled words made her shudder, although she didn't back away. Most likely it sensed the power of the jewel, since it coursed through every fiber of her being. Yet such power was beyond the creature's reach, no matter how it might desire to possess it. When the beast reared it's head back, she briefly wondered if it would attack, but it only stared at her, its red eyes fixing her with an unblinking stare. "You're the one who called me here, are you not? What is it that you want of me?"

'What all creatures such as us desire, freedom.'

The answer caught Kagome off guard and after a moment, she shook her head sadly, "I'm afraid that that is something I cannot give you. Nor can I free myself from the trap I was destined for, from even before I took my first breath."

'A convenient lie that you tell yourself in order to justify your existence.'

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked, her brows furrowing in confusion. If there had been a way for her to escape the jewel, to live again, she would have done so long ago.

'Foolish human, do not pretend to not know that is what you do each time merge your mind with his. It is an escape, a way to experience things that have been denied to you since your death.'

Slowly Kagome blinked, unsure of what the dragon was getting at. In a way, that was exactly what she was doing, yet there was a difference between that and true freedom. In no way shape or form did she consider their situations similar. A frown formed on her face when she gave him her answer, "Perhaps in a fashion. However, it's still nothing more than a large, gilded cage that gives the illusion of freedom, nothing more. Moreover, do you truly consider yourself a slave to Hiei's desires? Is the lure of his power so intoxicating that you cannot resist his call?"

'Do not speak of things you cannot hope to understand. Many have tried to become my master, and only one has succeeded but the cost has been high to the both of us. Perhaps even beyond a mortal's comprehension, yet I believe you of all beings can understand.'

"Again I ask what it is that you desire of me. I see no collar around your throat, nor any chains to fetter your movements. What possible freedom can I give you?" Kagome asked, staring into the dragon's eyes. She couldn't begin to imagine what price had been exacted from the beast when it gave it's allegiance to the apparition, nor was she certain that she even wanted to know. Yet, it had called her here for a reason and she knew that if she were to turn it away, it would only return each time she ventured deeper into Hiei's unconscious mind until it got what it wanted.

'Freedom. Control. Each are things that you possess, each are things that you can grant to me.'

Silently Kagome waited for it to continue. There was little that she couldn't do with the power of the jewel, if she saw a need to use it. Again the dragon came closer but instead of remaining still this time, Kagome reached out and laid a hand upon its great muzzle. The sheer amount of anger that radiated from the beast was enough to take her breath away and it was then that she realized that there was a deep seated hatred buried within, boiling just beneath the surface.

'You feel it as well, even if you refuse to acknowledge it. You long to be free of the confines you have found yourself within, just as I long to be free of the invisible chains that have been thrust upon my soul.'

"I won't help you kill him," Kagome said firmly and removed her hand. She knew very well just how Hiei had come into possession of the dragon, and she knew it had to grate on the beast's nerves to know that it had been beat by someone who only took the chance because they had nothing else to lose.

'Kill him? Do you presume me to be so foolish as to believe that you would do something so unwise, guardian of the Shikon?'

"How did you know?" Kagome asked. She was more than a little curious as to how the creature had come across the information, especially when the apparition didn't even have the knowledge.

'Not everyone has forgotten about the power of the jewel, least of all those who have once touched it. More so, there is no ignoring the mark it has left upon your soul. No, his death, while appealing, is not an option that you'd entertain. I can be content with control, just as you are.'

"You can't possibly think I have control over him," Kagome said with a snort and crossed her arms. Unless the apparition was asleep, her influence was limited at best. Without having him close at hand, there was little that she could do to influence him.

'Only because you lack the finesse that comes with experience, miko. You lack the will to see the bigger picture, or to exert the control that you're capable of.'

"Control such as what you speak of means little to me. It is enough that I take what I need from him, anything more than that is pointless," Kagome said, brushing the dragon's words aside. Somehow, she could see where the conversation was going and she wasn't altogether comfortable with it. If it was control that the beast wanted, what would happen if it actually managed to obtain it?

'Another pretty lie to deny the selfish nature you try to hide.'

"Selfish? I created the bond to save lives. I see nothing selfish about that," Kagome countered hotly. She knew that everyone had a certain amount of darkness in their hearts and she was more than willing to accept that she did as well. But this was not one of those times. Selfish would have been allowing the balance in the jewel to go to hell. Selfish would have been to allow the destruction of thousands of innocent people. What she had done was far from selfish and she'd be damned if the dragon was going to convince her otherwise.

'And yet, the demons that you would have killed are those who would become corrupt by the power they seek to attain. The same demons who bring about nothing but death and destruction. Your refusal to act could be costing innocent lives even now, yet you did it to keep your conscience clean. And now, that selfishness has created a desire that only one demon can satisfy. In light of all that, you would deny me this one paltry request?'

"And if I were to grant your request, what then? How many innocents would die just so that you could unleash the anger you hold within?" Kagome asked, her voice lowering to a near whisper. She couldn't deny the dragon's words, for they weren't untrue. Those very reasons had been what she'd used to justify creating the bond with Hiei in the first place. In the end, she'd never been able to determine which was the lesser of the two evils.

'Do you wish to know the truth? Or would you rather another pretty lie to satisfy your guilty conscience? I have no interest in lessening your guilt; my only concern is gaining what I desire. Only death will sever the bond between myself and the wielder of the jagan, but until then I wish to have what you do; the ability to experience life beyond the prison in which you now stand in.'

"What you ask for... is not something that can be given easily," Kagome said quietly. She wasn't even sure that it was possible to forge a bond such as the one that the dragon spoke of, not when the beast wasn't even something that existed on the mortal plane. It was as much of a spirit as she was, perhaps even more so.

'A trivial concern. I offer power in exchange for freedom. Merge your soul with mine, and I will gift you with that which you desire; the ability to maintain the jewel and the knowledge to wield it as you wish.'

Kagome had to admit, the idea was a tempting one. There was no denying that the dragon was demonic in nature, even if it came from another realm. To draw its essence into her soul would provide her with all the demonic energy she could ever need and it would be at her disposal to use as she saw fit. Yet, she knew there was at least one downside to this; once the merger was made, there was no going back. At least, not unless she destroyed the dragon completely.

However, something told her that wouldn't be necessary. When she'd touched the beast, it was true that she'd been met with a deep seated desire to kill and an almost irrepressible anger. Yet at the same time, there was still an honor that was more than a match for the apparition she'd bonded herself to. "What do we do?"

'Give yourself over to me.'

The low growl was whispered against the skin of her neck, and she closed her eyes when she was surrounded by an intense heat. When the first touch of demonic energy rippled across her skin, she was forced to take hold of her own powers of purification to prevent them from lashing out. Moments later her breath was taken away when that same energy slammed into her, invading the very center of her being. Memories flooded her mind, along with the knowledge that had been promised and when the burning sensation faded away, she opened her eyes to discover that she was once again alone. Yet she could feel that dark presence lurking in the corner of her mind, watching, waiting to see what would happen next.

Strangely enough, she no longer knew what to do. She was sure that Hiei was somewhere in the temple, even though she hadn't seen him as of yet and she wondered whether or not he had any idea of the conversation that had just taken place. Slowly she shook her head, no, if nothing else the dragon would have made sure that their conversation had remained just between them. The better question was whether or not the apparition could feel the difference in the beast that rode his arm. Even though it had merged with her, he was still its master and he would bear its mark until his death.

For the moment, his mind remained quiet, betraying no knowledge of the new development but that didn't mean that things wouldn't change upon his awakening. This had definitely complicated things, but she couldn't bring herself to regret what she'd done, at least not yet.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Quickly Kagome spun around to face the owner of that voice, stunned that he'd managed to come upon her so quickly. Now the choice had been taken away from her as to whether or not to approach him, and she had to think fast, "I should be asking you the same thing, demon."

The statement barely registered in his mind when he realized just who was standing in front of him. No longer was the girl wearing an expression of sadness; now she was looking defiant and every bit the priestess that her clothing would suggest. "You. You've got a lot of explaining to do, woman."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kagome said, trying to give him the best look of confusion that she could muster. The last thing that she wanted was for him to realize that while this was a dream, that she was really there. She couldn't let that happen, at least not until she was certain that revealing the bond was the right thing to do.

Hiei narrowed his eyes at her, trying to figure out just what kind of game she was playing. Seeing her once was a fluke, but a second time? He doubted that was a coincidence. One way or another, he was going to get his answers. "Cut the crap, Kagome. Why have you come to me?"

"I've done nothing of the sort. You came in here and snuck up on me! And how to do you know my name?" she asked angrily, desperately holding onto the act that would keep her from having to explain anything to him. The thought of just disappearing from his dream didn't even cross her mind, not when she still desired his company in spite of the current circumstances.

That particular answer was not the one that he wanted to hear, and he took a menacing step towards her. To his surprise though, she backed away with a look of fear in her eyes and that planted the seed of doubt in his mind. Why would a woman that wielded the ultimate power over demons back away? It didn't make sense, yet that's exactly what was happening. "If you didn't come here for me, why are you here?"

"I... was called by this place," Kagome said, backing up another step until her back hit the stone alter. There was a look in his eyes that under most circumstances would have frightened most people, but she couldn't deny that she found it... alluring. "What did you come here for?"

"It's not important," Hiei said, brushing the question aside. Something about the situation still seemed off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. One thing was certain though, it wasn't a coincidence that he'd found himself in a holy place while dreaming of her. He still wasn't altogether convinced that this wasn't her either. Within moments he had her pinned against the side of the alter, his hands trapping her in place. "There's something about you..."

"I know that you didn't come here to pray," Kagome murmured, dropping the frightened act altogether. He was far too near; too close to not react to. Even now she could feel the warmth radiating from his body, reminding her of the last time they were together and deep within her mind, she felt the dragon stir. Now she knew of the control that she possessed over the apparition, even though it was a double edged blade. The same desire she invoked in him cut deeply through her as well.

"What would you know about why I came here?" Hiei bit out, staring the woman in the eyes. The look of fear that had been there only moments before was gone, and now there was a smoldering fire lurking there, hinting at the power she had at her fingertips. It was alluring to say the least and he found himself moving closer.

"I know that few things matter to you," Kagome said, her voice dropping to a whisper, "Power... control... and desire. The question becomes, which of them does this temple represent to you? Or is it that you're here to satisfy all three?Tell me what it is that you desire." As she spoke, her hands slid along the bare expanse of his arms and up to his shoulders and when she saw the look in his eyes, she knew that she had him.

For a moment there was only silence, but then he began to laugh, filling the empty room with its menacing sound. The woman was good and he had to wonder if she knew exactly what the temple was. Even he had been uncertain, the first time he'd visited this place, but it hadn't taken long to figure it out. "The better question is, why are you here, miko? Are you here to play the sacrificial virgin, ready to give yourself over to the Dragon of the Darkness Flame?"

"But you and the dragon are one and the same now, are you not? Power calls to power, thus, why I stand here before you. You know what you desire and I have to wonder if you're waiting for an engraved invitation to take it," she replied easily, not in the least intimidated by the apparition's words. The look of surprise on his face was all that she needed to close the distance between them. But his shock didn't last for long and the moment her lips touched his, she found herself sprawled on her back.

The kiss that they shared was hot and needy, searing in its intensity and spurring the apparition to take greater liberties with her body. Ruthlessly he grabbed her by the wrists and pinned them down to the stone she laid upon before pulling away slightly. Now more than ever he was convinced that she was a witch who took pleasure in provoking him. Even now she made a delectable sight, sprawled out before him as she was with her chest heaving, but she wasn't trying to escape his grasp.

The smoldering look in her eyes seemed to intensify for a moment, but he was quickly distracted by the black dragon who suddenly chose to appear. Quickly he sat back, waiting to see what was about to transpire. While it was true that he was the beast's master, this was its domain and his control here was rather limited. To his surprise however, it didn't seem to be interested in the girl's destruction. Instead, it wound its way around her body, it's flames burning away the clothing that she wore to reveal the unblemished skin beneath. Nor was the miko attempting to drive the beast away, but instead she seemed to accommodate its efforts by arching her back to allow it access to any part of her body that it wanted.

"This dream just keeps getting better and better," he said, growling in approval when the tatters of clothing fell away. Now she laid there nude before him like an offering to the Gods, wrapped up in the creature that only he had managed to tame. Licking his lips, he placed his hands of the soft skin of her inner thighs and pressed her legs apart, exposing her most intimate of areas to his view.

"I see you're not as innocent as you seem," he said and ran a finger over the slick flesh that he'd found. She was already wet and ready to be taken, proving that the little minx had indeed come here with something other than prayer in mind. Silently he waited for a reaction to his statement, but it soon became apparent that she wasn't going to give him one. It was curious to say the least; shouldn't his dream woman act in accordance to the traditional role that a miko would play?

In the end he decided that it didn't matter one way or the other, as long as he got what he wanted. Silently he increased the pressure on her sensitive flesh, relishing in the whimper that spilled from her lips. It was clear what she wanted, even if she wasn't going to come right out and say it yet. But he wanted to hear her beg, to hear her plead for something that only he could give her.

However, Kagome knew exactly what it was that the apparition wanted and she was made from far sterner stuff than to be reduced to a quivering pile of need; now it was a contest of wills to see just who would break first. Her legs shifted open in further invitation and a sly smirk crossed her face when she saw him inhale deeply, no doubt taking in the scent of her arousal.

Slowly his fingers continued their torturous movements, gliding sensuously along her heated flesh while his other hand worked with determination on the sash of his pants, pulling at the knot that held it closed. The instant it came away, his pants fell to the stone floor with a muffled thump, and he stepped out of them; now that they were both nude the real fun could begin.. "Say it. Tell me you want me to fuck you."

"Make me want it and maybe I will," she said, fixing him with a hard look. A feral growl resonated deep within her chest when he began running his cock along her slick folds, applying just enough pressure to tease her but not nearly enough to allow him to slip inside.

The sound made him pause ever so briefly, and Kagome's smirk widened; he couldn't know that it was the dragon's influence over her body and that the beast was getting impatient. Clearly it wanted complete control over the situation and it was displeased that the apparition wasn't cooperating.

However, as far as Hiei was aware the dragon was only participating towards one goal; giving him what he desired. So he ignored it, concentrating on the way her feminine flesh clung to his cock and tried pulling him in deeper. The slight touch on his back was enough to alert him to the fact that the dragon was shifting in position, but he was unprepared for the moment the sinuous body tightened around him.

The force in which Kagome was impaled had her hissing in satisfaction and clutching at the edges of the alter she laid upon. This was what she wanted, what she needed, but refused to beg for and it wouldn't be long before the apparition was under her complete control. Even now she could see his muscles tensing, fighting the hold that the dragon held on him so that he could take her with abandon. "Perhaps it's you who should be begging me, demon."

"Like hell," Hiei growled, willing the dragon to free him. He'd thought he succeeded when he felt the beast moving, but all too soon he realized just how wrong he was. Cautiously he eyed the girl when the creature pulled him away from her, watching as she hopped off the stone alter. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Turning the tables on you, what does it look like?" Kagome asked and gave him a teasing smile, knowing that the loss of control had to be annoying the hell out of him. Patiently she waited while the dragon hauled it's master onto the alter and positioned him on his back. Only then did she rejoin him, straddling his waist seductively. "Now, this isn't so bad, is it?"

As much as he wanted to refute that question, Hiei had to admit that the view he was receiving was rather nice. Her pert breasts were well within reach, the hard nipples just begging to be played with, but at the moment he was unable to move his arms. Roughly he tugged at his bonds, but the dragon merely tightened it's hold on his wrists. "Release me, woman."

"Ah ah," Kagome said in reprimand, "Now where would be the fun in that. Just lay there for a moment, you'll get what you want... eventually." Knowing that the apparition wasn't going anywhere, she began to undulate her hips, teasing him with the slightest of touches against his turgid flesh.

"How does it feel, knowing that something you want is being held just out of your reach?' she asked while running her hands over the ample swell of her breasts. Heatedly she watched his reaction while her fingers tugged lightly on her nipples, and she knew by the way his fingers twitched that he longed to be the one playing with them.

"Teasing wench," he growled, continuing his struggle against the dragon that held him. However, he stopped the moment that she grasped his cock and began slowly lowering herself down on it. He groaned as he watched inch by inch of it disappearing into that warm, wet heat and all thoughts of gaining his freedom left.

The pace she was setting was almost excruciatingly slow, yet sinful in the amount of pleasure it was giving the both of them. She leaned back, bracing her hands on thighs and accentuating the curve of her back as she rode him, giving herself over to the whims of the dragon deep within her. She could hear it's growl of satisfaction in her ear, spurring her on to move faster, harder against him. The wet sounds of their flesh meeting filled the air around them and soon, the apparition was thrusting his hips upward, driving deeply into her soft flesh.

Moments later the dragon freed his hands and Hiei grabbed the girl by her hips, rolling them over so that he had the freedom to do as he'd wanted from the start. Her soft pants were like music to his ears, her whimpers of pleasure spurred him on to thrust deeper. He knew that it wouldn't be long before she reached her peak and he couldn't wait to feel her milking his cock.

Frantically Kagome clutched at his back, pulling him so close that his sweat dampened skin slid against her own, searing her with its heat. The added friction was just too much and her body spasmed, her nails gouging deep furrows into his back. The slight pain only seemed to spur him on though, and she cried out when he bit into her shoulder, drinking deeply of the blood that welled up from the wound. With a cry she came, riding out the waves of pleasure that coursed through her body.

The scent and taste of her blood could easily become an addiction for him, but more so, the way she moved, the way she felt was something he wanted more of. He wanted her at his beck and call, to cater to his every desire. Even now he could see her on her knees, after he'd tamed her, asking if there was any thing she could do to satisfy his every need. A smirk crossed his face when she elevated her energy just enough that it sparked across his skin, teasing him with the knowledge of the power she could unleash; power that for the moment was under his control.

With a growl he hauled her up and turned her until she was on her hands and knees, her supple backside just begging for attention. However, this time he was far too hot, too needy to even consider taking the time to prepare her for being fucked in such a fashion. So instead he grabbed her hips and pulled her back, impaling her on his cock. Eager for his touch, she drove back against him while crying out his name.

To hear the need in her voice was the final straw. His own release slammed into him, yet he continued to drive into her, drawing it out for as long as he could. Only once it was over did he still, leaning over until he was braced over the miko with one hand while the other remained on her hip. Desperately he fought to catch his breath while maintaining his hold on the girl. There was no way in hell she was going to get away from him, not when there was so much more that he longed to do to her.

Yet, against his wishes she seemed to disappear from beneath him and when he looked up again, she was standing there next to him. Once again the dragon had wound itself around her body and its head rested upon her shoulder, almost as if it was taunting him by touching the woman he still desired.

"I hope you don't think we're finished here," he said lowly, pushing himself up until he was sitting back on his knees. The teasing smile that she'd worn earlier was back and he had to wonder just what she thought she was going to be able to do to gain the advantage again. He wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating the way her own desire had seemed to influence the dragon.

"But we are, at least for now," Kagome replied and tossed her damp hair over her shoulder. As much as she'd enjoy another round with her lover, she knew that at least this time it wasn't to be. Soon enough he'd be yanked from his sleep whether he wanted to or not, but he needn't worry, it wouldn't be long before she came to him again.

"I'm afraid that you're about to have company," she said while slowly walking towards him. Once she reached him, she reached out and gently cupped his cheek, "If I may, Hiei... I know that your mind is in constant turmoil and it's often difficult for you to sleep. Just remember that I'm always here for you, if only you'd come to me." With that she disappeared from his sight before he could ask her the questions that she knew lingered in his mind. She'd give him time to think on her words and make his decision. If he truly desired to accept what she offered, she would know.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: The Puppet Master

Author: Bondage Fetish

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: Lemons, language, violence and character death.

Theme: Dangerous Liaisons

Disclaimer: If I owned either Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho, I'd actually be rewriting both series instead of having to content myself with fan fiction of it. And no, I make no money off of this story.

Written for The Deadliest Sin's contest.

**Chapter Five**

"You wanted to see me?" Hiei asked the moment that he stepped into Mukuro's office. He'd been less than enthused when a servant had appeared, knocking on his door and pulling him from his sleep. He was even less than pleased over the fact that he'd been forced to shove his still hard cock into his pants, not even having the time to finish himself off from the dream that he'd just had. Right now all he wanted to do was take care of his aching body, and then ponder over what the girl had told him just before she'd disappeared. Now more than ever he was certain that it hadn't been 'just a dream', and he was more than a little impatient to confront the girl to find out just what the hell was going on.

Mukuro raised a brow when she heard the way that he bit out the question, but for the moment she let it slide. Based on his slightly ruffled appearance, she was almost positive that her summons had woken him up and it could easily explain his curt attitude. "It would seem that you have a visitor, but before I allow this little meeting to happen I desire to know why Yomi's second in command would come here directly to see you instead of just passing along a message."

"Kurama's here?" Hiei asked, his voice not betraying his surprise. However, the fox coming here was one of the last things he would have expected the man to do, and he wondered just what he could have found that would be deemed so important as to require a personal meeting.

"Must I spell it out for you?" Mukuro asked, knowing full well that the question could provoke the apparition into actually talking for a change. "My question still stands, why would Kurama come here? I was under the impression that he'd fallen back into the routine that his human life demands."

"I asked him to contact me," Hiei replied with a shrug. With Kurama there, he knew there was no way in hell he was going to escape Mukuro's office without giving the woman some sort of information. In a way, she was right; it was so unlikely that Kurama would come directly to the fortress that even he hadn't anticipated the move.

"Come now, Hiei. We both know that isn't going to be enough of an answer. What is it that's so important that he needed to come here to discuss it? Especially given the recent instance of your trip to the Ningenkai, I know that you didn't venture deep enough into the human world to see him," Mukuro said and laid her folded hands on the desk. Hypothetically speaking, she had him by the balls and they both knew it. It was well within her right to dismiss the kitsune without allowing this meeting to take place. Of course, Hiei would most likely find the earliest possible time to return to the Ningenkai to question the man, but that would take time that she knew he wouldn't want to waste; not if this was as important as it appeared to be on the surface.

This was exactly what he'd been expecting and he repressed a sigh of irritation. As much as he wanted to tell the woman to fuck off and mind her own business, that wouldn't get him what he wanted. As much as they respected each other, they both had their limits and she _was _still his boss, of a sort. If he prolonged this confrontation, she'd demand more information than he was willing to give just in order to be able to meet with his former teammate. "It has to do with the personal business I attended to when I eliminated those fools who crossed the border the last time."

"Then perhaps it's time you filled me in on what that personal business is. If it has to do with your sister, surely you know I would understand your need to keep in contact with the human world. So this leads me to believe that there's something more to this," she said quietly, knowing that if she were to outright give him the order to tell her, it would be ignored and once again she would be left in the dark.

For a moment Hiei was ready to lie and say that it did have something to do with Yukina, but he knew Mukuro well enough to know that she'd see straight through the lie. So instead of drawing this irritation out any longer than necessary, he decided to give her what she wanted, "During the fight, one of the fools mentioned something about a shrine in Tokyo."

"A shrine?" Mukuro repeated, her face plaining showing her surprise, and skepticism, "What could two low class demons want with a shrine? Surely they had enough sense of self preservation that they wouldn't dare step upon holy ground."

"That's what I figured, however I deemed it necessary to check out," Hiei replied with a shrug of the shoulders. The look on her face was enough to tell him that he'd most likely escape this meeting with most of his secrets intact.

Silently Mukuro waited for him to continue, but when he said no more, she sighed, "And what was it that you found at this shrine? I trust you ran into no trouble since I didn't have to throw you in the regen tanks again."

"The shrine had been burnt to the ground years before. I asked Kurama to look into it for me," he said, unsure of how much more he should reveal.

That the apparition had seen fit to look into it himself, and then to ask the kitsune to look into it said that there was something more to this than what he was saying. She leaned back in her chair and regarded him silently for several long moments before speaking, "You wouldn't involve yourself in mere human matters. What was it about the fire that caught your interest, Hiei?"

Inwardly Hiei was cursing her perceptiveness and he knew that he wasn't going to get away without giving mention of the girl. It was just going to be a matter of laying and passing it off as if Kagome wasn't of any great importance and hopefully Mukuro would drop it. "The jagan gave me the image of a human girl that was somehow tied to the shrine. When I realized that the fire at the shrine had been created with demonic energy, I asked Kurama to look into it. Most likely the fool who was responsible is either dead or returned to the Makai a long time ago, but I needed to be sure."

Now they were finally getting somewhere and Mukuro pondered over this newest information. Now it was beginning to make sense, in some odd, twisted way. It wasn't normal for Hiei to get involved in what seemed to be a trivial matter, but on the other hand, he _would_ want to make sure that it hadn't happened while he was confined to the Ningenkai. Most likely Koenma would use that as an excuse to pull him back into service, regardless of the fact that Hiei had no interest in protecting the human world beyond serving the time he'd been forced into. "And you didn't see this as important enough to inform me of?"

"Frankly, no. As far as I could tell, the girl is of no great importance and I doubt that a shrine would be of interest to you. We've all got better things to do than worry about some foolish human girl who happened to find herself as food for some low level scum that happened across her. All I need to know is whether or not this is something that Koenma has in his files, waiting to spring on me when the next world crisis makes an appearance. Nothing more," he replied and waited to see whether or not the answer was going to suffice. Downplaying the Miko's importance and laying all this trouble on Koenma's doorstep was likely to be his ticket out of this convoluted mess, but there was no way to be certain as to whether or not he was right, not until she spoke.

"All this fuss for nothing then," Mukuro said, a slight grin of amusement settling on her face, "I still don't understand why you've been so difficult over the past few weeks for such a trivial matter, but I suppose your reasons are your own. Kurama's in conference room one. Do let me know how this issue resolves itself."

Nodding his head, Hiei walked to the door and pulled it open, pausing before he stepped through, "You wish to know why I said nothing? It's a matter of trust, Mukuro. Treat me as a dog on a leash that has to answer your every question and you'll find just how quickly I can slip that leash. I answer to you out of respect, nothing more. I should not have to think about you, or look to you for direction every time I wish to do something that falls out of your scope of concern yet that's exactly what I've found myself doing as of late. That habit ends as of today, one way or another."

With that he stepped through the door and shut it quietly behind him. He didn't need to look at her to know that he'd stunned her with his words, but it was true. He'd found himself far too concerned with how she'd think or react to him doing as he pleased and frankly he was getting tired of it. He seemed to have lost sight of his own independence somewhere along the way and it was time that he reclaimed it. Mukuro would understand, or they'd part company, it was as simple as that.

His thoughts remained chaotic as he walked to the conference room that Mukuro had indicated, and when he finally arrived he was forced to shove them all on the back burner. He couldn't be distracted by thoughts of the future now, not when he needed to devote his complete attention to the conversation that was about to take place. Upon entering the room, he was met with the sight of Kurama sitting at the large table, a look of seriousness on his face. That in itself was troubling; he'd only seen that look in times of battle and he wondered just what the hell it was that the kitsune had found. "I take it you have news for me."

"You could say that," Kurama replied with a sigh. The mystery that the apparition had set him on had been more than complex and he still didn't have all the pieces before him, but he was positive that Hiei knew more than what he was telling him. That in itself wasn't exactly surprising, but it did hinder his own investigation more than he would have liked.

"I need to know exactly what you know about this girl, Hiei," he said, fixing his former teammate with a look that dared him to lie to him. When Hiei hesitated, Kurama leaned back in his chair, "I've already combed the room and disabled the listening devices that were hidden. I seriously doubt that you want Mukuro or anyone else to know about this, otherwise you wouldn't have come to me."

"Fine," Hiei said after a moment and walked over to the nearby window to stare outside, "She has the power to invade dreams." He'd come to that conclusion not long after awaking, there was just no denying it, not with the way they'd parted this time.

"You've been in contact with her then?" Kurama asked, surprise coloring his voice. Humans with specific abilities such as that weren't common, but they weren't unheard of either. If the miko had that power, it could explain why Hiei was so unsettled.

"Twice now," he replied quietly, "and she's stated that she could do so again, if I reach out to her." It had only been once he realized that it was, in fact, the girl entering his dream that he finally remembered why she looked so damned familiar. Those blue eyes should have been his first clue, but she'd altered her appearance just enough the first time that he hadn't made the connection. The woman truly was a minx to be coming to him like that, posing as a nymph that would be sure to get his attention.

Kurama's brow furrowed while he tried to decide just what it was that the miko could possibly want from his friend. It would take a considerable amount of power to mentally cross the realms like that. "Did she say why she choose you?"

"Because I'm a good fuck, I would imagine," Hiei said with a snort. Somehow he doubted it was because of his sparkling personality. By all rights, the girl should shy away from him, yet she'd approached him the first time when he was bathed in the blood of his enemies. True, it was only a dream, but still... the girl had peculiar tastes.

"Wait... you mean she's coming to you to be.... intimate?" Kurama asked, staring at his friend in surprise. That hadn't been what he'd been expecting to hear at all. Anything else would have been far more likely; power, or perhaps the need for revenge but certainly not _that_.

Hiei rolled his eyes at the Kitsune's reaction. Surely by now the man had figured out that humans made no sense in the way they went about things. "I can't spell it out any plainer for you, Kurama. What have you found out?"

Kurama was forced to shake off his surprise over the revelation and concentrate his attention on the question at hand, "Unfortunately there wasn't much about the girl herself, but there were more than a few legends that surrounded the shrine and one of them might be of particular interest. Have you heard of the Shikon no Tama?"

The question had Hiei turning to stare at the kitsune with a blank expression before looking back out the window, "No, what is it?"

"It's apparently an ancient artifact of great power that has ties to the shrine. Centuries ago, there was a miko named Kikyo who had it in her possession up until her death," Kurama said and began looking over the papers that he'd brought with him, "Apparently the person who killed her was a hanyou named Inuyasha and the jewel was burned with her body in an attempt to destroy it."

The mention of the two names had Hiei's head snapping to the side in surprise, "Son of a bitch. What of the hanyou, what happened to him?"

Curious as to what caused that outburst, Kurama began rifling through the papers to find the answer, "You must remember that gaining this information has been difficult at best. I was unable to pinpoint the exact time of is death, but as best as I can figure, it was less than one hundred years after Kikyo's elimination. Why?"

"This makes no sense," Hiei growled beneath his breath. The conversation that he'd overheard had specified that Kagome had been present with both Inuyasha, who had apparently been alive at the time, and Kikyo, who had somehow risen from the dead. If the hanyou had perished so long ago, then there was absolutely no chance that the girl had been present for the talk between the two women. Was it merely a contrived scene, meant to confuse him somehow? No, something told him that the woman wouldn't stoop so low, so there had to be another answer. "This jewel, what does it do?"

"What it _did_, apparently, was give its wielder immeasurable power and its said that it could grant any wish. However, the legends were quite clear that the jewel was destroyed when Kikyo's body was burned. After that, there was no further information on the artifact. Either it was indeed destroyed or someone went to great lengths to cover up it's whereabouts," he replied uneasily. There was always a possibility that he'd missed something in his research, but somehow he didn't think so, not when he'd been so thorough in his investigation.

"Assume for a moment that the jewel was still around, could it be used for time travel?" Hiei asked, his brow furrowing in contemplation. It was the only possible answer that he could come up with, the only way he could see Kagome ending up in the same time period as the other two.

For a moment Kurama remained silent, thinking over the possibilities. He didn't believe that the legend regarding the jewel's power was necessarily true. Tales tended to grow over time and while it was possible, it wasn't likely that something of that power would be left in a human's hands. Finally he sighed, "Theoretically I suppose that anything is possible but I believe that there would be limitations. Why the question? Do you believe that somehow this girl traveled to the past?"

"Perhaps," Hiei said but then switched gears, "Did you find anything regarding necromancy? Or is that something that the jewel would be capable of as well, assuming it could grant more than one wish."

"I don't see why it couldn't, although I think I know where you're going with this. Assuming that Kagome somehow managed to get her hands on this artifact and wished herself back to the past, what purpose would she have in practicing such a dark art. She is a miko and they abhor such abominations," Kurama said quietly. It was like pulling teeth to get the information out of the apparition, but it was still progress nonetheless.

"Kagome was Kikyo's reincarnation and somehow, the dead miko was resurrected with a piece of Kagome's soul," Hiei replied, his mind whirling with the implications. Things were beginning to make sense; the girl's wish for Kikyo to stay dead, the other woman's mention of Kagome being without a chunk of her soul. If he didn't know better, it sounded like there had been some sort of fucked up love triangle involving a reanimated corpse.

Silently Kurama considered that statement, wondering if it was even possible. Technically, a soul wasn't supposed to be able to exist in two places at once, not for long anyway. The pain of such a separation would be unbearable, not to mention that they would still need a corpse to work with in the first place. "If what you say is true, it would explain why there's no trace of the girl now, aside from the fact that she's invading your dreams somehow. That could be explained if she'd somehow managed to get her hands on the Shikon. Artifacts were tricky and if she'd attempted to use it, it might have exacted a price for it's power, such as her body. All that would remain was a free floating spirit that might not have a reason to pass on. But again, everything indicates that the Shikon was destroyed. She couldn't use something that no longer exists."

"But it does," Hiei countered quietly and fixed the kitsune with an unreadable look, "and I know where it is. Tell me, if burning the jewel wasn't enough to destroy it, what would it take?"

"What do you mean it does? Do you have proof?" Kurama asked his eyes wide with surprise. If there was in fact an artifact out there of such power, the results could be devastating to say the least. Of course, there was always the chance that Kagome had been chosen as its new guardian and she was the only thing now that stood in the way of the demons who would seek to obtain it.

Hiei almost rolled his eyes at the eagerness that his friend was now showing, but he wasn't about to give up that information just yet, "Never mind that and just answer the question, can it be destroyed?"

"There's a chance, I suppose. Burning the jewel was supposed to send it to hell, but a normal fire would have not been enough to overpower the jewel's will. It would need to be something strong, with a desire that could overwhelm anything that the Shikon might want, assuming its a sentient being," Kurama replied, wondering what the apparition had in mind.

Immediately Hiei's mind flashed back to the dream he'd had just that morning and the answer hit him like a ton of bricks. He'd wondered why the dragon had chosen to get involved, and better yet, why she'd allowed it to. "The dragon could do it, and I'm willing to bet she'll allow it to."

"You'd be taking a huge risk. The dragon could just as easily decide that it wants that power for itself; do you truly think that could control it?" Kurama asked, concern coloring his voice. If the Shikon was as powerful as legend stated, they could have one hell of a mess on their hands.

"That's just one of the things I intend to find out," Hiei stated and then headed towards the door, "You asked where the jewel is located? Just across the border, west of the temple, there is a crevasse marked with the scars of an ancient battle. I will see for myself if your information is correct. If you do not hear from me within three days, I trust that you'll know what to do with the information."

Kurama nodded his head in acknowledgment and stood, "In that case I'll inform Koenma and allow him to deal with it. Are you sure that you wish to go alone? I know that you have some sort of connection with this miko, but do you dare take the chance?"

"You leave that to me," Hiei said and walked out the door, leaving his teammate behind. There were still so many answers that he desired, questions unanswered but they wouldn't be for much longer. As he walked, he wondered just what his plan of attack should be. Assuming that the girl was open to the idea of being freed from her prison, he still had the factor of the jewel to deal with. Letting the dragon loose in the Ningenkai was sure to draw Koenma's watchful eye, but he didn't know if it could be helped. He could always bring the Shikon to the Makai, but then he'd be forced to deal with the dragon becoming that much more difficult to control with all the demonic energy permeating the air. One way or another though, he'd get the job done. His journey to the outside world was briefly stopped when he saw Mukuro standing there, leaning against the hallway wall.

"You're leaving," she stated, calmly taking in the resolve that blanketed his aura. Clearly whatever it was that Kurama had to say was what the man needed to settle his mind and set him on his current course.

Hiei nodded once and wondered whether or not she was going to attempt to stop him. If she did, it would be the final cut in the ties that they held for each other. He was accountable for his own actions and answered only to himself from here on out. "I'll be gone for at least a week, no more than two."

"Does this have to do with the girl that you'd mentioned?" she asked, making no move to tell him that he couldn't leave. Something told her that they were at a critical point and she had to relax her control over him. As much as she wished to know what was going on in his life, there were times that she had to take a step back and allow him to do as he wanted.

"It does. Are you going to try to stop me?" Hiei asked curiously. It was strange that she seemed so calm, especially seeing as what he'd said to her in her office.

"No. Come back when you've resolved the issue," Mukuro said and turned from him. She wasn't going to bother to tell him to be safe, or careful. Such things were impossible for him to do, but she knew that he was more than capable of taking care of himself. Somewhere along the way, she'd lost sight of that, especially after seeing how content he was with dying in the beginning. Now though, things had changed and she wasn't the one responsible.

~Sometime later~

Hiei found himself on the grassy knoll that overlooked the crevasse, the place where he'd first felt the Miko's strange power. It was strange, in a way it seemed like almost no time had passed since that day. The only thing different about this time and the last was that there were no intruders to deal with, no demons to kill.

However, there was an anticipation deep within him that had been absent the last time, and somehow he wasn't altogether certain it was all his own. Somehow he was certain that the woman knew he was here for something, it was just a question of how long it would take for her to show up.

"Kagome," he murmured, "come to me. I know that you're here." Yet as he stood there, there was no answer. The breeze swirled around him, teasing his skin with the comfort that it offered. Remained as alone as the moment that he'd arrived and he was growing impatient.

'Figures. I come here to settle this and the woman can't be bothered to show up.' Briefly he wondered if he should just begin seeking the spot where he was sure that the Shikon resided, beneath the rubble at the bottom of the gorge, yet as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he felt a gentle nudging on his senses. It puzzled him at first until he remembered her parting words to him.

Each time they'd actually met, it had always been when he was asleep. Was she not powerful enough to communicate while he was in complete control of his mind? The thought had him snorting in derision; if the jewel was supposed to be all that powerful, she shouldn't be bothered by such limitations. Still, he was willing to play the game, at least for the moment. Quickly he sought out the same tree that he'd fallen asleep in before, and closed his eyes. Yet sleep was elusive, especially with how keyed up he was at the moment.

It was then that Kagome took matters into her own hands, excreting her own control and plunging his mind into darkness. This time when he appeared before her, she had no intension to seducing him. Instead, she would answer his questions, and see what the future had in store for the both of them.

"I must admit, I didn't think you'd take me up on the offer quite so soon. I'm glad though," she said at last, giving him a slight smile. Gracefully she lowered herself down to the soft grass and stared out into the distance.

"I'm going to skip the pleasantries and ask, just what the hell did you do to me?" Hiei said in response while staring down at her. Upon first glance, most people would overlook her as being a weak, pathetic human but he knew otherwise. To underestimate her would be foolish and he wasn't about to be caught off guard.

"I suppose that in order to answer your question, I need to explain my situation," Kagome said wistfully, wondering if he was about to condemn her for what she was about to say. "As you might have guessed, I am in fact dead and my spirit is tied to this place."

"And how did that happen? I already know that it wasn't because of the fire at the shrine," he replied and crossed his arms. His statement was sheer speculation because he didn't have definitive proof that she'd used the jewel to travel through time, but it was a start.

"You see the scars there, in the earth?" she asked and pointed to the cliff that was only a short distance away. When he nodded she sighed and continued, "Those marks were created by the energy of a mighty sword, given the name Tetsusaiga. We were in the fight for our lives, and I just happened to get caught in the crossfire when that attack hit."

"Great, we're dealing with a 'rocks fall everyone dies' scenario," he replied with a scoff. Somehow it would figure that the only human woman that'd he'd encountered besides Genkai to be worth a damn had gotten herself killed in such an idiotic fashion.

The laugh Kagome gave was a weak one and she shook her head, "Not quite. I was the only one caught in the rock slide, even though Inuyasha was killed later in the fight. In the end though, he managed to take the enemy out, which was good enough for everyone else. With the amount of rock that had fallen, it was impossible for Sango and the others to retrieve my body, although they'd often tried."

"Were they interested in your body, or were they after the Shikon?" he asked, scorn coloring his voice. Somehow he doubted that the people that she'd been friends with would try to move heaven and earth, just to retrieve her body when it was likely to be mangled beyond recognition. To say that there were several tons of rock down at the bottom would be a major understatement.

"Both, actually," Kagome replied, shaking her head, "I can't blame them though. The Shikon isn't something that you want falling into the wrong hands. It's happened once already, and it would have happened again if it hadn't been for the fact that it absorbed my soul in the instant of my death."

Well, that answered that question for him. The woman did indeed have the jewel and that explained the sheer force of power that she could exert when she so desired. Overall, it was probably for the best that it had happened like that though, he couldn't imagine the damage that would have occurred had the jewel been retrieved by someone with less than honorable intentions. "Do I dare ask how you ended up with the jewel in the first place? I've got it on good authority that it disappeared with Kikyo's death."

"Your authority on the matter is sadly lacking in information I'm afraid, but that's in large part due to Shippo and Miroku's efforts. They did what they could to make sure that what had happened faded into obscurity, relying on spells and sutras to force people to forget. They had to in order to keep people from coming for the jewel," she said quietly, reflecting on all the hard work those two had done. Even the Reikai was unaware of its existence, which was no bad thing in her opinion and she still wasn't sure how they'd managed to pull that one off.

"You still haven't answered my question," he reminded her impatiently. He still had so many questions he longed to ask her, and he wasn't going anywhere until he had the answers.

"I suppose I haven't," she said and shook her head, "I guess it happened because I'm Kikyo's reincarnation. She did instruct that they burn the jewel with her body, but that wasn't nearly enough to destroy it. When her soul was reincarnated, the jewel came with it and reformed itself in my body."

That answer hadn't quite been what he'd been expecting and for a moment he stared blankly at her, "You've got to be joking. What'd you do, cut it out?" Better yet, how the hell did she know that she had it in her in the first place?

"Ripped out is more like it. When Mistress Centipede pulled me through the well, she sensed its power within my body. When she saw the chance to take it, she did," Kagome replied with a shrug of her shoulders. Even though it was all ancient history, if she concentrated she could still feel the residual pain from the injuries that she'd sustained, even though she no longer had a physical form.

Something told Hiei he didn't even want to ask who this Mistress Centipede was. Instead he focused on the other part, the fact that she'd been pulled through the well. Now that he thought about it, there had been a hole on the shrine grounds that had been tainted with the feel of magic. "So then, that's how you traveled to the past."

"Yes, you catch on quick," Kagome said, nodding her head in approval, "It was a portal to the Feudal era, and that's where I met Inuyasha." Even now if she closed her eyes, she could hear the way he'd screamed at her on that first day. Even now though, after all that had happened, she wouldn't have gone back to change things.

Hiei ignored the careless compliment that she'd tossed his way. He didn't want to even contemplate what Koenma must have been thinking, assuming he had been thinking at all, to allow a portal to the past to continue to exist. It was bad enough that there had been gateways into the Makai before the barrier had fallen, and look how much trouble that had caused him in the end.

But that was neither here nor there at the moment. He could contemplate just what that meant for them later, when he decided whether or not this needed to be reported to Koenma at all. Finally, after much deliberation, he took a seat down in the grass next to the girl although he didn't look at her, "I'm guessing you're going to tell me there is an easy explanation to how the other Miko gained a piece of your soul too."

"I guess in some ways you could call it easy. Chalk it up to a crazy witch who thought that having the all powerful Kikyo's power at her fingertips would be a good idea. She didn't expect that she'd been reincarnated though, so when she recreated her body it was left as an empty shell; until she saw me anyway. After that it was a quick bath in her stinky potion and Inuyasha making a huge blunder that ripped my soul out. I got it all back by the time I died, but it wasn't easy to deal with in the meantime," she said with a sad smile. She'd known that he was going to ask her that after having overheard the conversation that she'd been thinking of the last time he'd come to this place. Initially, she hadn't meant for him to overhear it but after it had happened, she didn't regret it. If nothing else, it told him a little bit about her, about the kind of person that she was.

Hie knew that she had to be oversimplifying the matter, but he wasn't going to call her on it just yet. It was enough for now, and he was ready to move on. He could always return to the subject and question her later. For now he was ready to find out just what she'd done to him from the beginning. Her answers up to this point had been necessary, but they gave no clue to just what she'd done, or why.

"The answer is simple, yet more complicated than it would appear on the surface," she said and fixed him with her piercing blue eyes, "You wonder how I know what you're thinking right now. That ties in with the other, I assure you."

"Then get to the point," he bit out crossly. Even sitting here with her, he couldn't feel her probing his mind in any fashion and it was more than a bit vexatious.

"So impatient. You don't have anywhere to be and if it hasn't adversely affected you yet, it's not going to," she told him with an impish grin. When he glared at her she rolled her eyes, "Like I said, my soul was taken into the Shikon the moment of my death. Unfortunately when that happened, the souls within were no longer in balance. The sheer amount of holy energy began to overwhelm the demonic souls that were trapped inside and I was forced to introduce outside youki, just to keep the jewel in balance."

"And you did that by luring demons here to their deaths," Hiei said, catching on to the situation immediately. It was clear that what she'd done had been out of necessity and he wasn't going to hold that against her. Aside from the invariable headache the whole incident had caused, at most it had cost him a bit of extra work. In return, she'd opened his eyes as to how restrictive his life had become.

"In a word, yes. There were very few ways to acquire the energy I needed, and that was the most expedient way to do it, until now," Kagome said and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. She'd seen the way that he'd stiffened and there was no doubt in her mind that he was waiting to hear just what this other method happened to be.

"You must understand," she began quietly, "that we're vastly different creatures. You revel in the joy of killing and I only do so because there's no other choice. When you came here, I wondered if you were after the jewel as well, just like the others."

"And if I had been?" Hiei asked, although he was fairly certain that he already knew the answer.

"Then I would have killed you without remorse," she said firmly, but then her eyes softened, "I almost did anyway, you know. I had to be sure that you weren't after the Shikon, so I put you to sleep and searched to see just what kind of person you were."

Indignation rose up in him then when it occurred to him that this... human had managed to not only render him unconscious but had searched through his memory as well. Being in possession of mind reading abilities himself, it had made him even more selective about what he allowed people to know about him. However, she'd managed to strip all that away in an instant. Yet at the same time, he was forced to think rationally instead of allowing his anger to rule him. Had he been in the same position, he would have ripped her memories away without a second thought and left her mindless if he saw fit. It was strange that she hadn't done so, and he wondered what had stopped her from doing so.

For a moment Kagome wondered if he was going to attempt to lash out at her, not that it would have done him any good. It would however damage what little of a relationship that they had, if it could be called that. "I'm not going to lie and tell you that I approve of the things you've done, or in how you've led your life. I do believe however that it's made you a stronger person, and in the end you turned out better than the Gods had intended. I think you can thank your friends, and your own sense of honor for that one."

"My life is what I've decided to make of it, without anyone else's interference. So you've read my mind, what does that have to do with anything?" Hiei asked, not wanting to be drawn into a debate as to whether or not outside influences had truly made that much of a difference in his life.

"I've been tired of killing, Hiei, so very tired. But up until you came to this place, there had been no one that I could trust. Regardless of how they've come here, each demon has only wanted the power of the jewel. I couldn't trust them with the secret, I didn't dare take the chance. You were different though," she said, hoping that he would see the truth of her words. Of course, there hadn't been any guarantees that her assessment of his character would be correct and she'd been prepared to take action to eliminate the threat should he pose one.

"So that's why you've been coming to me in my dreams. Funny, I thought only Kitsune were sexual vampires," he said, shaking his head slightly and wondering why it was always him that had to deal with the strange shit. "How did you find me once I returned to the Makai?"

"Well..." she said, hesitating a bit. If he was likely to lose his temper over anything, this was likely to be it, "I sort of... created a connection with your mind that first day. "

"Of course, why didn't I think of that already," he said sarcastically. He didn't even want to ask her whether or not she could break it since something told him that he wouldn't like the answer in the least. In the end, he supposed it was immaterial since she wouldn't be in that form for much longer. Maybe then he'd stop waking up with a tent in his pants, or worse, blowing his load like a thirteen year old human boy.

Kagome didn't bother to answer that rhetorical question, knowing that it was just likely to piss him off even further. Instead, she wanted to know more of why he'd chosen to come to her. She'd been vaguely aware of the conversation that he'd held with the redhead, but she wasn't altogether certain that it would work. More to the point, she'd gotten used to her existence, such as it was. For the jewel to be destroyed would likely mean the destruction of her soul as well and she wasn't ready to embrace that possibility.

As if he were the one reading her mind this time, Hiei began to speak again, "I suppose I don't need to tell you then that I've discovered a way to destroy the jewel."

"I heard, although I can't allow you to do that. I may have been self sacrificing in my youth but to do so now would serve no purpose," Kagome replied and looked up at the sky. It was true, a lot of things had changed in her during the centuries that had passed. She was no longer the same naive girl that she'd once been, and nothing would change that.

The answer didn't surprise him in the least, although he was a bit shocked that she hadn't made a thorough look into his thoughts about the matter. Either way though, it just meant there would be an instance where he was able to surprise her instead of it being the other way around. "It figures that you're not looking at the big picture. You would hold onto this existence, ignoring the chance to live again just so you can continue to wallow in your self pity while stealing the energy from others that you have no right to."

"Excuse me?" Kagome said, bristling in indignation, "I am not wallowing in self pity here. What would you have me do, allow my soul to be extinguished without so much as a by your leave? You speak to me as if there's a chance I can live again, but I will not walk this Earth as Kikyo did. I will not be shoved into a body made of clay, living a half life just so you can be secure in the knowledge that the jewel is gone!"

"And here I thought you were smarter than this," Hiei said with a sneer, "again you are blind to the potential that you hold in your very hand. Or was the legend about the jewel nothing more than a lie, leaving nothing more than a paltry trinket that you use to lure people to their deaths. Which is it, girl? Can the jewel actually grant the wish of the bearer or am I just wasting my time here?"

Kagome's hands fisted at her sides and she stood up to glare down at the demon, "Of course the jewel can grant a wish. But using it does nothing more than corrupt the jewel, which brings nothing but destruction! How many people have to die before you'll realize that the jewel only brings ruin?"

"Spare me the melodrama, woman. You're not using what little of a brain you have in that head. What part of destroying the jewel did you not understand? Once it's gone you'll no longer have to worry about what damage it might cause," Hiei said, his scathing tone meant to cut deeply into the woman standing before him. She was running off of pure emotion now and in his opinion, she needed a swift kick in the ass to get her to start thinking again.

"What makes you think you can destroy it. Kikyo tried and failed to do so. You know what will happen if it doesn't work this time? It'll show up centuries down the line in some other unsuspecting girl and her life will be ruined when some demon comes along and takes it," Kagome countered. It wasn't the idea of living again that was so unappealing, but rather, what would happen if she shirked her responsibility.

He had to admit, it was a valid question, one that he hadn't thought about. However, the answer wasn't that long in coming and his gaze softened ever so slightly, "You forget, I am the dragon now. What it knows, I know. If the jewel isn't destroyed, we'll take the appropriate measures necessary to retrieve it."

The answer was a slight long shot, but he had no doubts that Koenma could indeed venture down into the pits of hell if necessary; hopefully it wouldn't come to that though. However, something told him that idea wouldn't need to be put to the test. He believed that since Kagome would be alive at the point that they attempted to destroy the jewel, it would merely return to her if it failed. If nothing else, she could remain it's guardian but in a more appropriate form.

"You really believe that, don't you?" Kagome asked, allowing some of her anger to dissipate. When he looked at her in slight confusion, she shook her head, "About the dragon. Yes, you may have mastered it, but do you really think that it bows to your whims just because you want it to?"

Hiei looked at her oddly then, wondering what it was that she knew about the beast. She spoke as if she had intimate knowledge of it and what it was capable of.

"The dragon is still a thinking being, Hiei. It has its own wants, and desires. I know this because it approached me, long before you came to me in the temple," she said quietly. In a way, she wondered if the dragon would even acquiesce to the desire of destroying the jewel, or if it would take the jewel for its own.

Her way of thinking was... odd. The dragon wanted to feed, to kill. It didn't rationalize one way or another. It's knowledge was his own, yet something about her demeanor seemed off and he raised a brow at her, "Don't tell me that you've formed a connection with it as well."

"You could say that," Kagome replied with a shrug, "he approached me, looking for a contact to the outside world. You're right that it wants power and control, so I ask you, what possible reason would the dragon have for going along with this in the first place?"

'I wouldn't.'

Kagome jumped when the deep voice hissed in her mind. A quick glance over at the apparition revealed that he'd heard it as well and he looked less than pleased. "I suppose that answers that question then."

'Unless...'

"Unless?" Kagome repeated, her brow furrowing in confusion. She'd expected an outright refusal but now it seemed as if the dragon wanted to bargain. It'd already gotten what it wanted, a gateway to the outside world. What more could it want?

'Destruction such as you speak of is unattainable. Control however, is a far more likely option. You wish to secure the jewel in a location which no one can venture?'

Immediately the scenery changed to that of the temple that they'd been in only hours before and the dragon rose up in a cloud of mist in the center of the room. But Kagome wasn't fooled by the change in location. They were still in the Ningenkai, near the jewel's resting place. This was nothing more than an illusion of the dragon's making.

"I'm not going to pretend that you'd do this with no benefit to yourself. What's in this for you?" Kagome asked, staring at the dragon's manifestation. As far as she was aware, complete control over the jewel was nothing more than a fanciful illusion. Keeping it in her physical possession was risky at best, and there was a great risk that it could be stolen, just as it had in the past. However, if Hiei and this creature hovering before her were right and it could be, at the very least, secured in hell, was it possibly a better option than the alternative?

'It's simple really, Miko. You've already agreed to my terms, this would be nothing more than an extension of that bond. My terms are freedom, pure and simple. In your current state, it's only slightly more extensive than what I had before the contract was sealed. But if you were to live again...'

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Hiei bit out, irritated with the fact that he was being ignored completely. The turn of events continued to stun him after each turn, and he just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that the Miko would even consider bonding with a creature such as the beast which rode his arm.

Kagome watched with bated breath when the dragon swung its head around to stare at the apparition. On one hand she could completely understand where he was coming from, but that didn't mean that the beast was likely to take kindly to his interference. It loathed the fact that it had been collared, and Hiei's words had done nothing but remind it of that fact.

'Your desires on this point, are immaterial, Master. This is between me and the girl. Life, and protection of the jewel in return for use of her body.'

"Like hell it isn't any of my concern. Are you forgetting that you are under my control. It's my will that calls you to the mortal plane, not hers," Hiei snapped, not liking the direction that this was taking. It was as if his wishes were of no consequence and he was being dismissed entirely.

"Wait, you said you want use of my body, to what end? If you're looking to go on some rampage in the human world, you can forget it. Besides, I can't take the risk of placing the jewel in your... claws. The jewel remains purified only when its in my possession.'

'Is there really so great of a difference from what you have now? Strengthening the bond will only increase your power, allowing your link to the jewel to remain in place. Are you so weak that you would be unable to accomplish your goal, even under those ideal circumstance? My strength will become your own, just as your body will become my temple. Join with me, and your troubles will vanish beneath our combined power.'

The proclamation stunned Kagome, leaving her speechless. This was considerably more than she could have ever hoped for. If she hadn't known better, she would have accused the dragon of lying. However, it was impossible in this place and with the bond they already shared, its thoughts resonated through her head, impressing upon her the truth of its words.

Now she had a choice before her, something that she'd never thought she'd have. A chance to live again, something she'd never thought possible. It was there, ready for the taking, if only she'd reach out and take hold it. But did she dare? Already she could feel Hiei's misgivings, but to the man's credit he hadn't changed his mind just yet.

Cautiously she looked over to him, taking in his unreadable expression. She could see the thoughts racing across his face and she knew they centered around the dragon itself. He was worried that this bond would somehow supersede his own, diminishing the power he controlled. Yet she knew that it wasn't quite like that and she hastened to reassure him, "If you're worried about losing control, its not a concern. What is being discussed here holds no bearing on your control."

Her words did little to reassure him, but there was more to it than just that. Back in his mind, he wondered if the jewel would somehow increase the dragon's power. Assuming that was the case and he remained in control, it would become more devastating in its intensity when the attack was unleashed. The potential was staggering and the benefits seemed to far outweigh the risks in his mind. Finally he nodded, and fixed the girl with a bored look, "Do as you please. I have no objections so long as you get on with it."

Now that the ball was in her court, Kagome weighed her options. She could always have Hiei wish upon the jewel and then keep the Shikon on her possession, as she'd done before. However, now she knew that there were demons in her own time, and she didn't have anyone to protect her. Keeping the jewel safe would be next to impossible since it wasn't practical to carry a bow around modern day Tokyo. So the only other options left to her was to continue as she had been, living a solitary existence save for the brief amount of time that Hiei was willing to give her, or accept the dragon's offer.

In the end it was a hard choice, but she knew what she wanted to do. It might have been a selfish decision on her part, but there was no denying the burning desire within her; she wanted to live again. She wanted to regain what she'd lost all those centuries ago. She had no idea where she'd go or what she'd do once this was all over, but it was better than subsisting on the scraps that life had to offer to her now. Slowly she bowed her head and took a deep breath, "I'll do it. Do what you feel is necessary."

Before the final word had left her mouth, the dragon had lunged, seizing her throat in its powerful jaws and piercing the delicate skin with its fangs. Pain erupted through her body and her eyes squeezed shut while she tried to endure the agony. Hot, sticky blood trailed down the slender column of her throat while the dragon drank deeply of her essence and she was left praying for him to finish quickly, lest she lose her resolve.

The action had taken Hiei completely by surprise and he stared incredulously as the beast wrapped its sinuous body around her own. Yet he knew that it wasn't attempting to kill her, far from it in fact. Even now her clothing was being burned away, reminiscent of what had happened the last time she'd been embraced by the dragon. A smoky mist rose from it's body and it began to seep into the Miko's skin, leaving a distinct mark behind once it had vanished. A near perfect replica of the famed dragon now twisted along her body, a permanent mark of the bond that they now shared. When she looked up again, he noticed how her eyes briefly flashed red before fading back to the vivid blue they'd been previously and he knew that the creature was watching silently from within her mind.

Once the pain had receded, Kagome shook her head. That had been something she could have definitely gone without experiencing. Physical sensation was something that she could indeed experience, although in most instances it wasn't quite as strong as it would be if she'd had a body. But this time, it had been damage inflicted directly on her soul so that the dragon could merge with her. She laughed without humor then, remembering the times she'd seen in Hiei's memory when he'd proclaimed himself to be the dragon. What then, did that make her now?

It was probably something that was best not dwelt upon, or brought to the man's attention. Instead she glanced down at her body, taking note of the mark of the dragon that now branded her. Should anyone see it, they'd believe it to be an elaborate tattoo, nothing more. However, she knew better and those with high spiritual energy would be foolish to ignore the warning that it represented.

It took mere moments for her to concentrate and reform the clothing that she'd lost, yet again. As soon as that was done though, the scene abruptly changed and once again she and Hiei was standing on the grassy knoll. "So what do we do now?"

The answer came quickly, accompanied by Hiei's piercing glare, "We retrieve the jewel."

The task, however, would be far more difficult than just speaking the words. If her friends had been unable to dig it out before, then it would be doubly difficult now. The rock had had time to settle, and worse still, more rock had fallen as the weather had taken its toll on the jagged cliff overhead. "I suppose you have an idea on how we're going to do that then?"

"Yes. I'll use my power to blast away part of the rubble. Once I've cleared as much as I can, allow the power of the jewel to flare. On my way here there were several mid level demons lurking near the border. They'll come if you call and finish the work for us," Hiei replied quietly. It was the quickest method he could come up with, and he was sure that it would attract attention but they had no other choice. He had no desire to sit there for weeks moving rock when they could have it over and done with in a matter of minutes.

The plan seemed to be a sound one, with only one slight snag. "And once they reach the jewel? I assume I'm to drain them all at the last moment?" She couldn't afford to allow even one of them to touch the artifact. If they knew how to use it, there was a chance that they could make a wish, giving them complete control before she eliminate the threat. With numbers on their side, she could be at enough of a disadvantage to cause concern.

"Do you really think that the dragon would allow possession on the jewel to fall into some fool's hands? Should the time come, it will protect you," he said quietly, knowing that it was true. Even if _it _wouldn't, he would be there and they weren't going to get past him.

"Good point," she replied, more than a little relieved that her fears were groundless. It was putting a hell of a lot of trust in the two of them, but instinct told her that she was making the right decision. "Let's do this then."

"Agreed," he said and waited for her to end the dream. Awareness came to him slowly, but once it did he quickly shook off the remnants of sleep. He had a job to do, and not much time to do it in. Resolutely he began walking towards the edge of the crevasse, determined to get this over with quickly. Once he reached the edge, he peered down into the darkness. The gorge seemed to be bottomless, however he knew better than to believe such a foolish notion. One leap had him disappearing into the darkness, free falling in his quest to reach the bottom.

It came sooner than expected and he landed lightly on his feet. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and once it did, the sheer amount of rock stunned him. The miko really hadn't been kidding when she'd said it would be a difficult task to get to the Shikon, but he had no doubts as to his success.

The memory came to him of the time during the dark tournament when he'd tried to match the destructive force of Toguro's fist and the way the ground had caved beneath the impact. That was the exact method that he'd be employing now and he wasted no time in getting to it. Immediately he lept into the air and pulled his fist back, gathering as much power as he could to deliver in that one crushing blow before gravity began to work its magic, pulling him back to Earth.

The impact was devastating, shaking the ground beneath him and shattering the rock like it was glass. Shards of granite flew through the air, slicing into anything it came into contact with. Carelessly Hiei wiped away the trickle of blood that trailed down his cheek and surveyed his handiwork. Unsurprisingly, he'd made a considerable dent in the pile although he was far from finished. 'As long as the shock

wave doesn't incite another rock slide. That would be a perfect end to this fucked up day.'

Tirelessly he worked until he reached the more solid rock and his fists were bleeding. He'd reached the end of what he could do by himself; to go any further would be risking permanent injury to his hands unless he made it back to the regen tank in time. That was fine by him considering he didn't want to have to deal with waiting for shards of bone to mend itself. "If you're going to do it, now is the time, Miko."

The sudden flare of energy knocked Hiei backwards and he scowled in her general direction, even though he couldn't see her. They were going to be lucky if half the damned Makai didn't come running, not to mention it was sure to attract the Detective's attention. Regardless, he saw no point in remaining there to be caught in the stampede that was likely only moments away. Quickly he made his way back up the side of the cliff and returned to what was quickly becoming his favorite resting tree there. Now all that remained was to wait.

But it wasn't long before he felt the first tell tale signs of demonic energy approaching and he smiled. They certainly weren't wasting any time and that was fine by him. Cautiously he moved farther up into the tree, concealing himself in the shadows and suppressing his aura. It just wouldn't do for these lowlifes to realize that he was there, not when it would make them hesitant to approach. This was definitely one time when his reputation would work against him, so it was best to avoid the problem all together.

So silently he watched and eventually they came, slowly at first. It didn't take much for their hesitation to leave them though, and soon they were amassing in greater numbers, answering the call of the jewel. One by one they disappeared into the gorge and he could feel their energy building as they blasted at the rocks. And off in the distance he could feel the Toushin approaching at a breakneck speed, but so long as the man didn't arrive before he had the jewel in his hand, he didn't give a damn.

Deep within his mind he felt the dragon stir through Kagome and he knew it was almost time. The beast was hungry for blood, demanding the lives of the one who had come to possess its chosen.... Hiei's thoughts stopped for a moment as he pondered just what the hell she was to the dragon before he decided that it didn't matter, so long as the dragon got the job done.

It was then that the power surged forth and Hiei knew that it was time. The dragon's shriek was deafening as it erupted from the Miko's soul, lashing out at anything in its path. The screams of the dying filled the air along with the acrid stench of burning flesh. It was done, and now all that was left was to retrieve the jewel and make the wish.

Quickly he dropped down out of the tree, but before he could make it back to the gorge, the dragon met him half way. The regarded each other coldly for several long moments before the beast growled lowly from its chest.

'Now I shall be the one to make the wish and bring the girl back to the world of the living.'

Hiei's eyes widened considerably when he realized that the dragon held the Shikon in one of its hands and it had no intentions of handing the jewel over. To his surprise the blinding pink color hadn't faded in spite of the inherent evilness that lurked within the beast's heart. It was then that he realized just how powerful Kagome was, and his confidence solidified that this would indeed work. A pulse like a heartbeat filled the air and he realized that the wish had been made. Silently he waited to see what would happen; waiting for proof that the legends were true. So intent on watching the scene unfold, he never noticed that the dragon had vanished, taking with him the very jewel which had caused this mess in the first place.

A fine mist appeared on the ground, slowly at first but as the moments passed it quickly solidified and he realized that it was actually happening. Quickly he knelt down and reached out towards her, his hand connecting with solid flesh. The touch seemed to be the trigger for the Miko to take a shuddering breath, proof that she was indeed alive.

"It.... worked," Kagome said through chattering teeth. The feeling of being alive after so long was a foreign one and she hugged her arms around her body in a desperate effort to keep warm. Moments later she was surrounded by a soft, black cloth and she realized that Hiei had given her his cloak. "Thank you... for everything."

"Hn... you can pay me back later," he said flatly. He wasn't interested in her gratitude, not when there was other things that she could use to show her appreciation. The nights that she'd left him hard with desire stood out starkly in his mind.

The thoughts from the apparition slammed into her, and Kagome found herself chuckling weakly, "A pervert to the end eh, Hiei? Don't worry, I'd come to like the arrangement that we had so maybe we can work something out."

The implications of what she just said had him scowling. It wasn't the offer of sex that had him displeased, but more that she still knew just what the hell he was thinking. His voice was flat when he spoke again, "The bond is still in place."

Slowly Kagome nodded, "It would seem so. I don't think this is something I can undo, not with the way that we're both bonded to the dragon. It's something that we're going to have to learn to live with."

"Figures," Hiei said with a snort. That was one of the things he'd been afraid of from the start of this whole convoluted mess, so it really didn't come as a surprise to him. He was just going to have to take it out on her ass, literally if he had any say in the matter.

"What the hell is going on here?"

The shout had both Hiei and Kagome turning in surprise. They'd been so wrapped up in the aftermath of her resurrection that they hadn't even noticed the fact that Yusuke had come up on them.

Silence reigned over the clearing for several long moments while Yusuke processed just what the hell he was looking at. When he finally spoke again, his voice was tight with disbelief, "You've gotta be shitting me. Kagome, where the hell have you been?"

"It's a very long story, Yusuke and... I'm tired. It's been a long day," Kagome said, giving him a weary smile. She really wasn't up to repeating the entire tale a second time that day. Surely Yusuke would understand that much. The grip on her shoulder tightened ever so slightly and she glanced over at Hiei. It was then that she knew that he would take care of the problem. In the meantime, it was time to go home, wherever home was.

"Yeah, I bet," Yusuke replied and eyed her critically. He would have had to have been blind not to notice that she was almost nude, save for Hiei's cloak. It was an awkward situation to say the least. The glare from the hybrid certainly wasn't helping matters either, and he quickly yanked his gaze up and off of her bare legs. "So uh,, you gotta place to go then? Cause I hate to tell you, the shrine is gone."

"I know. Hiei told me," she said quietly, not wanting to go into any more detail at the moment. "Can I stay with either of you, at least for the night? I'm not sure where to go at this point." That much at least was the understatement of the year. With the shrine gone, there was nothing left. It would be difficult to resume her previous life, but she was certain it could be done. Explaining her absence to the authorities however, would be more than a little difficult. Once that was done she knew that there was some money left by her family that she'd be able to access, if nothing else. It would be enough to get a place and pay the bills until she managed to get a job. Even so, it didn't change the fact that the sheer uncertainty of her future was more than a little daunting.

"I don't think you want to stay with Hiei. That place is more than a little creepy, not to mention there's plenty of um... people there that probably wouldn't appreciate you being there," Yusuke said, scratching the back of his head uncertainly. Without knowing just what she knew about demons, it was best not to take any chances. He really didn't want to have to ask Hiei to wipe her memories because of a blunder. 'She's going to be lucky if he doesn't have to do that anyway. Without knowing where she's been, there's no telling what she's seen.'

"How kind of you to offer your place to her, Detective," Hiei said with just a touch of sarcasm in his voice. While the man had a point about taking her into the Makai, the girl would be in little danger now that she had a self appointed guardian, Hell, he doubted he'd even have to play babysitter to her in that case. Anyone stupid enough to approach her with less than honorable intentions would find themselves as dragon fodder.

"Yeah, uh... I guess you could stay with me," Yusuke said, taken aback by Hiei's statement. He really hadn't given any thought at all to the idea of her staying at his place. It was only a one bedroom apartment with a pallet on the floor. "But... there's something else. I mean, I know you don't want to talk about it now, but you're going to have to speak to the authorities eventually. They'll probably want to put you in the hospital for observation and all that crap. Do you want to do that now, or wait a couple of days?"

"She'll go tomorrow," Hiei said before Kagome had a chance to weigh the pros and cons of the question. It was going to be hard enough to deal with them without adding additional complications on top of it. If they were to learn that she'd been found, yet no report had been made on it, it wouldn't look good. It might even lead to suspicion that perhaps she was one of the ones to cause the fire.

"Wait a minute, don't I have a say in this?" Kagome asked and crossed her arms stubbornly. All she wanted was a chance to get her bearings, to become accustomed to her new body. That at the very least was going to take a couple of days. What would they think if she wobbled into their office like someone who had been abed for the past several months?

"No, Hiei's right. The sooner this gets done, the better off you'll be. They still haven't solved the fire and while I know you weren't the one who did it, they don't," Yusuke said quietly. While she might not like the idea, he could see the wisdom in it. In a way it was strange, he'd never thought that he'd actually be the one advocating going to the police. 'Shit, the world must be ending.'

"We'll then I hope that one of you two have a good suggestion on what I should tell them. I don't think they'd believe me if I said I'd been trapped in a jewel for the past several centuries!" she said and stamped her foot for effect. That little statement had the desired effect, and to her, Yusuke at least looked as if he'd been smacked. Maybe now they'd actually start thinking instead of just carting her off to the police without even a half-assed plan in place.

The outburst had Hiei resiting the urge to rub his temples. There was no doubt about it now, he was seeing what Yusuke would have been like it he'd been born a female. How in the hell he was going to deal with two of these types of people, he'd never know. 'And here I thought she didn't want to answer his questions about what had happened.' Regardless, he didn't want to have to sit there any longer than necessary while the Toushin gapped at her. Sooner or later Botan, or worse yet, Koenma himself would show up. Wearily he stared the both of them down, "Don't ask, Detective. I'll fill you in later. In the meantime, you'll fake amnesia, Miko. If necessary I'll use the jagan to _help_ you. Now, if you two are finished, let's get the hell out of here. I have no desire to have to answer the Reikai's questions just because neither of you can pull your heads out of your asses long enough to realize just how much attention we're sure to have attracted.'

Even though the apparition had a point, Kagome glared at him anyway, "Has anyone ever told you that you're an insufferable jerk?"

"None who have lived to finish what they were saying," he countered with a glare, "Now if you don't mind, let's go."

Shaking his head, Yusuke watched the apparition dart off, without the girl, in the direction of the apartment. "Well, I guess it's just you and me. Want a ride?"

"Just keep your hands to yourself, 'kay? I'm sure Keiko would have your head otherwise," Kagome said with a grin. Even though her lover had all but dumped her on one of his friends, she really didn't mind. It just meant that she had that much more time to catch up on old times with him.


End file.
